Innocence
by Pen Monkey
Summary: Sora Hikari is moved from his terrible life in the bustling city of Hollow Bastion, to the quiet life as a resident of Destiny Islands. At first he hates the idea, but what will he think when a certain Auburn haired girl gets his attention?
1. Comfort

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Kingdom Hearts**. **But if I did you would all be my slaves!**

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Chapter 1: Comfort

Kairi Uchida sat on her bed clutching her teddy bear tightly, tears dropping from her red puffy eyes and onto her teddy. Only yesterday had her life been going great. She had great friends, did well in school, and had an awesome boyfriend. At least that's what she thought at the time. How could he do this to her? He had managed to bring her entire life crashing around her in the space of five minutes.

Drying her sore eyes, she picked up her phone. There was only one person she wanted to talk to today, her closest friend, Rikku. As she waited for Rikku to pick up the phone she tried to control her voice.

_"Hello?"_ Chirped the usually cheerful voice of Rikku. She was one of the most random people Kairi knew.

"R..Rikku? It's Kairi. Do...do you think you could come over for a while? I..I feel so alone right now."

_"Kairi? Kairi are you okay?"_

Of course she wasn't okay. Her supposedly faithful boyfriend had dumped her. But none of Kairi's friends knew that she broke up with her boyfriend. She just ran home when he had told her he didn't want to be with her anymore.

"C...could you just come over? I'll tell you then."

_"Sure! I'll be over in five minutes"_

Kairi hung up her phone and lay on her bed, the tears about to come on again. After what felt like forever, she heard the familiar knock on the door downstairs that Rikku always did when something was urgent. Kairi stayed in bed and let her mother answer it. She didn't feel like getting out of bed. Another minute passed and Kairi heard someone knock on the door to her room. It could only be one person.

"C...come in."

The door flew open and Rikku walked in, almost bombarding Kairi with a million questions. However she decided to ask only one very sensible question.

"Kairi? Are you alright?"  
Kairi shook her head. The tears starting again. Rikku sat down beside her and hugged her tightly.

"Why don't you tell me what happened."

After several minutes of waiting for Kairi to talk she finally whispered to Rikku.

"He broke up with me."

The words brought on even more tears. Rikku only held her in shock.

"He...he broke up with you!? Why!? You two were like the perfect couple!"

"H-he said he wanted to take our relationship to the next level. H-he wanted to do 'it' with me. I told him no. So he left me for Larxene."

"Larxene!? You have to be kidding me!"

Kairi understood Rikkus surprise. Larxene was known as a bit of a tramp around their school, Destiny High. How he could've thought she was going to be faithful to him was beyond her. All that she knew was that they could have each other for all she cared. The only reason he was with Larxene was so he could get some time in the bedroom.

"You know what Kairi. I'm proud of you."

"You are?"

Kairi looked up at Rikku. Her eyes red and confused.

"Of course I am. He only wanted to do 'it' with you. Frankly he can go and jump in a ditch for all I care!"

"Rikku that isn't nice!" Although Kairi couldn't help but giggle.

"So what if it wasn't nice. You're my best friend Kairi. You're practically my sister. We've known each other since we were in kindergarten at Destiny pre-school. Remember what I told you. Friends and boyfriends will come and go, but I'm not going anywhere."

Kairi couldn't help but smile and hug her best friend. She didn't even feel upset anymore. Rikku was right. He was just using her to do 'it'. To heck with him. He wasn't worth it.

"I know what will get your mind off that idiot. My cousin is moving from Radiant Garden to the Islands. My family are organizing a little welcome party. Would you like to come along? We could definitely use the help. So far me, my brother Roxas, Riku, Yuffie, Wakka, Selphie, Tidus, Olette, Hayner, Pence, and even your sister Naminé have chipped in. But we could always use another pair of hands."

Kairi smiled. Helping her friends would definitely take her mind off him.

"Okay. Yeah Rikku. I'll go with you. Just promise me that you won't try and set me up with someone."

"Since when have I ever tried to set you up with a guy?" She asked innocently.

"Ugh. I don't even want to begin counting. Come on let's go."

Rikku and Kairi left Kairis room and went downstairs. After saying goodbye to her mother they made their way to Rikkus house.

"Do you want to keep the fact that you and him aren't together anymore a secret?" Rikku asked curiously. Kairi knew Rikku was just bursting to tell someone. Kairi just smiled.

"No Rikku. You can tell them. As of now Kairi Uchida is no longer dating Axel Kaen."

For some reason it felt good to say that. Then Kairi realized, she never truly loved Axel, she just thought he was good looking and charming. She made a promise to herself right there and then. She wasn't going to go out with a guy until she met the one who was perfect for her.

"So Kairi. Any guys you fancy?"

"Rikku!" Kairi whined.

Rikku laughed and stuck out her tongue at Kairi, before running off home. Kairi, having no other choice, chased after her.

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**Huh? Well? D'you like it? It's short I know but work with me here folks. Give me some time and I'll write better chapters. It's my first fic so sue me. Reviews would be awesome!**


	2. New Beginnings

Chapter 2: New Beginnings

**-Two weeks ago-**

"Well well. If it isn't the only virgin in school."

"Can it Seifer!" Sora spat. Seifer just laughed, as did his two friends Fuu and Rai. Sora was in no mood for this. He hadn't even been in class for two minutes before they came after him.

"He's just jealous coz he's not a ladies man like Seifer y'know." Rai said dimly.

"Big loser." Fuu said simply.

"Enough. I'll deal with mister not-till-I'm-married." Seifer said smugly.

"I said shut up Seifer!"

"Or what? Come on Sora. We all know that you don't have it in you to hit me, or go all the way with a girl. I bet you would love nothing more than to...oof!"

Seifer never finished his sentence. Sora had punched him square in the jaw, knocking him backwards. Sora could handle being made fun of. But he _hated_ when guys mocked girls, thinking they were only objects for their own amusement. He watched as Seifer quickly got up, a very noticable red mark on his right cheek. He was suprised and furious at what Sora did.

"You're gonna pay for that. You little punk!"

Seifer lunged at Sora, causing both of them to fall to the floor, their fists pounding into any body part they could reach. Suddenly Sora felt someone grab him by the collar and pull him away from Seifer. Sora wiped his bloodied nose and turned to see who dared pull him away from the fight. To his dismay it was the vice-principal, Mr. Xehanort.

_"Of course."_ Sora thought to himself. Everyone knew that Mr. Xehanort had it in for Sora. Nobody was really sure as too why he hated Sora in the first place. It was just one of those things.

"Well it looks like dear old Sora has gotten into trouble again. Tell me. What was it about this time?"

"Seifer was...demeaning women. I don't like that." Sora looked at his feet angrily as he heard a few laughs spreading around the classroom. didn't do anything, as usual. Sora didn't understand why nobody here cared about people like he did. It made him feel abnormal.

"Well Mr. looks like I'll have to call in your mother." Mr. Xehanort leaned in closer to Sora so only he could hear. "And I _really_ enjoy her company."

At these words Sora lost all sense of reasoning. He broke free from Mr. Xehanorts grip and grabbed a chair. Without thinking, he swung the chair around and collided it with Mr. Xehanorts face, hearing a sickening snap. It took only a few seconds for Sora to realize that he had broken Mr. Xehanorts jaw.

The trial was quick. Sora was charged with assault, regardless of his testimony of Mr. Xehanort insulting his mother. Even Seifer testified against him. Saying that Sora was always causing trouble, saying the fact that he was always by himself and muttering while playing his guitar. Sora couldn't believe how stupid these people were. If he was muttering while playing a guitar it was bloody obvious that he was singing the lyrics to himself. But no matter how many times he tried to argue he was silenced. He was proven guilty on the grounds of emotional instability. He was ultimately given a choice. Go to prison, or go to another world for treatment. Ironically, the treatment centre was in the one place he had promised himself never to go to again. Destiny Islands.

**-One week ago-  
**  
"Mom! I don't want to go to those stupid islands! I told you that a million times!"

"Sora Hikari don't you raise your voice at me!"

Sora glared at his mother. He had so many of her features. Her blue eyes, her brown/chocolate coloured hair and her knack of never backing down from an argument.

"I'm sorry I'm shouting but I told you I'm _never_ going back there. It sucks!"

"Sora you had said that when you were seven years of age. Your seventeen now. Surely you had changed your attitude a small bit?"

Sora crossed his arms and stared at his mother defiantly.  
"Nope. Hated it then. Hate it now."

"Well too bad. You're going. It's either you go to Destiny Islands or you go to prison for attacking that man!"

"He deserved it! He insulted you!"

"Sora I'm sure you were just trying to protect me but there's no proof!"

"I'm your son! Doesn't that count for anything!?"

When Soras mother didn't answer he stormed off to his room. It was obvious that she would believe anyone else more than her own son. There was no talking between them for the rest of the week.

**-Present day-**

Sora packed his stuff reluctantly while his mother arranged where he was staying. His dads' brother Cloud had agreed to take him in. Sora really liked Cloud and his family, especially Roxas. He was like a twin brother. The only person he didn't get along with was his cousin Rikku. They didn't hate each other, they were just too different. Rikku was random and funny, whereas Sora was quiet and serious most of the time.

Before Sora got the bus to the Gummi port for the Gummi ship that departed for Destiny Islands, Soras mother had given him a gift. It was a silver chain with a crown on it.

"It was your fathers. He gave it to me the day he died. He told me that I should give it to you when the day feels right. For some reason today felt like the day I should give it to you."

Sora just gazed at the necklace. He didn't feel angry at his mother for keeping it a secret for so long, not regret or sadness. But happiness, his father cared about his son even after death. And his mother cared enough to remember his dads promise to her. His thoughts were interrupted by the horn of the bus.

"Well...I guess I've gotta go. Bye mom."

Before Sora could react he felt his mother wrap him into a big hug for a few seconds,  
then letting go. There were a few tears in her eyes.

"Goodbye Sora. I'll miss you. Don't forget to keep in touch. Promise?"

Sora smiled and put his hands behind his head. The exact same pose his father did.

"I promise mom. I've gotta go now. Bye."

Sora grabbed his bags and ran out to the bus waiting for him. He sat in the back row of seats and, as the bus started to drive off, took one last look behind at his home. The last time he would ever see it again.

**-Five hours later-**

"Sir? Sir? Sir we have arrived at our destination."

Sora awoke groggily and gazed around. He jumped with a start when he saw a Gummi attendant leaning next to him.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?" Sora asked tiredly.

"We have arrived at our destination sir. We are at Destiny Islands."

"Oh. Uh...thank you." Sora said as the attendant walked away. Sora clipped himself out of his seat and reached for his over head luggage. Not much there though. Basically just a bag with an iPod and a couple of books inside it.

When Sora stepped out of the Gummi ship he felt a blast of heat hit his face. He had started sweating profusely and quickly removed his black jacket. The Islands were hotter than he remembered. He quickly made his way to the Gummi port terminal, desperate to get to some air conditioning. After he reclaimed his bags containing his clothes and various other items, and most importantly his guitar case, he waited outside for his ride. He was kind of nervous seeing his cousins, uncle and aunt again. He wondered if they would even recognize him.

"Sora! Sora over here!"

Sora turned his head to the direction of the voice. Sure enough there stood a woman with long black hair and wore black shorts and top, with sneakers and leather gloves. Not far behind her was her husband. A man with spiky blonde hair that was even spikier than Soras. He was wearing black pants and top, with one of the sleeves missing. He smiled when he saw Sora. He hadn't seen him in years.

Sora picked up his stuff and walked quickly over to them. When he was near his aunt he was almost crushed to death by the strength of her hug. His uncle just sighed.

"Tifa let the boy go before you strangle him."

Tifa let go of Sora, who quickly gasped for breath.

"Oh be quiet Cloud. Since his mother called I've heard nothing but you and Roxas saying how happy you were that Sora was coming. Remember that stupid happy dance you two did around me for over a week? You're lucky I didn't kill the both of you."

Clouds just shrugged it off, as if he didn't care. He just turned and walked to the car but Sora could swear he saw a smirk on his uncles face.

"Come on Sora. Let's out your stuff in the car and we'll head on home."

Sora quickly went to the car and stuffed all his stuff in the boot of the car. With that out of the way he got in the car and sat in silence as they drove towards his new home.


	3. Surprise Welcome

**I own nothing sadly. If I did Kairi and Sora would be together by now**

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Chapter 3: Surprise welcome

"Rikku how long is this going to take? I've been doing this for ages."

Kairi slumped into a nearby chair, leaving the welcome balloons drift off. Roxas passed by her on his way to the kitchen.

"Well it won't be much longer Kairi. Sora's on his way soon. My mom and dad already picked him up and are on their way."

"But that's what Rikku said the last time!"

"Oh well. We thought that the others would be able to help today, but they're all away on a trip."

Kairi looked up in surprise.

"They're on a trip? Why didn't you go? Why didn't anyone ask me about going."

"Well we were going to be busy setting up a welcome party for Sora. And nobody asked you because you had told us that Axel wanted to be with you on that day."

Roxas froze and went back to Kairi. He then gave her the usual one armed hug he always did.

"Oh and about that jerk Axel. I'm sorry Kairi. He was stupid to break up someone like you. You know, there are quite a few guys in school that like you."

Kairi laughed and shook it off, leaving Roxas a bit confused.

"No thanks Roxas. I don't think I'll be dating anybody for a while. I'll just try to enjoy my life being single until I meet the perfect guy."

Roxas smiled and was about to continue his conversation but was dragged off by his ear by Rikku.

"Enough talking you two! We have to finish the decorations! Roxas you put up the banners, Kairi you finish placing the balloons and I'll get the food!"

Rikku quickly ran into the kitchen and all that could be heard was the banging and crashing of various objects. Kairi didn't want to go in and see what Rikku had done for fear of having to help her clean it up. Sighing, she grabbed the remainder of the welcome balloons and continued with placing them the way Rikku had instructed. After about five minutes she heard Roxas' voice from the sitting room.

"Rikku, Kairi! They're here!"

Kairi hurried over to the window and saw Roxas and Rikkus parents, Cloud and Tifa. They were always nice to her. They were like her second family.

"Kairi get over here!"

Kairi turned and saw Rikku and Roxas standing near the door, with Roxas clutching a cake. Kairi quickly went over to the both of them.

"Okay on the count of three. Ready? One..."

The handle of the door slowly opened.

"Two..."

The door opened and a foot appeared.

"Three. Surprise!"

However it was only Rikku and Roxas who said surprise. The second Kairi laid her eyes on him the word caught in her throat. The second she had seen his eyes she had forgotten everything.

_"Kairi? Kairi?"_

Kairi barely listened. She was too busy focused on his eyes. Something about them just drew her in.

"Kairi!"

Kairi jumped at the sound of Rikku shouting her name. She could feel a tinge of pink creeping across her face. How could she have just completely zoned out like that? Roxas stepped forward and gave his cousin a one armed hug.

"Sora! It's good to see you again man! We haven't seen each other in years!"

Sora smiled at his cousin, doing his best not to stare at Kairi. There was something about her eyes that caused him to keep trying to look at them.

"Well Sora. This is Rikkus best friend Kairi."

Sora went over to Kairi and shook her hand. He could feel his heart hammering quickly inside his chest. He didn't realize that Kairis' heart was doing the same thing.

_"Why does my heart feel so weird?"_ Sora thought to himself.

_"My heart feels so funny. Why is it acting like this?"_ Kairi though nervously. Even in her own mind she felt nervous.

"N-nice to meet you Sora. I'm Kairi." She muttered sheepishly, sweeping a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear.

"I'm Sora. Nice to meet you too Kairi." Sora smiled nervously. Something about her made him feel so nervous. He never acted like this around people before.

Before Sora and Kairi had a chance to say anything else they felt a pair of arms tugging at them. Before they knew it they were being dragged into the kitchen by Rikku and Roxas. Both Sora and Kairi groaned.

_"This is gonna be one long party."_ Both Sora and Kairi thought simultaneously. They had turned to each other and gazed into each others eyes for a few seconds. When they turned away they both had a tinge of pink in their cheeks.

It was going to be a long party. But they had a feeling it was going to be worth it.

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**Please review. I could use the encouragement. My mind is shy about writing stories.**


	4. Understanding

**Hope you guys enjoy the fic. I'm tryng my best to get out of a bad week here.**

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Chapter Four: Understanding

Sora, Rikku, Kairi and Roxas sat at the kitchen table, chatting about their lives. Everyone was so engrossed in hearing each others story that they never realized what time it was. Sora was currently explaining about how he ended up at the islands. When he was halfway through his story, up to the part where he was pummeling Seifer, Kairis phone rang. Everyone gave an 'Aww' when Kairi said it was her mother, and that she had to come home.

"I'll go with you Kairi! Just let me get my coat!" Rikku squealed.

"Okay Rikku. But be quick. I've got to leave as quick as possible, or my mom's gonna kill me."

While she waited for Rikku she had a small chat with Roxas and Sora.

"So...where are you going to school? I mean you can't just be left sitting around a house all day right?"

"Uh..." Sora said simply. He hadn't thought about school. He turned to Roxas, who just sighed.

"Don't people tell you anything? You're going to Destiny High. Me, Rikku, Kairi and all our other friends go there."

"Oh. Well that's good. I don't think I could handle being on my own on an Island. I could barely handle being on my own at Radiant Garden."

"Well it's a good thing your friends with us." Kairi said happily. "But don't try bugging our guy friend Riku. He won't do anything but all the girls that drool over him will.

Sora sighed in annoyance. This Riku guy sounded somewhat like Seifer. Roxas could tell what Sora was thinking and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey don't worry Sora. Rikus an awesome guy. He's a great friend as well. Don't worry he's nothing like Seifer."

"I hope not." Sora muttered.

Before Kairi could ask Sora another question the sound of Rikku bouncing down the stairs interrupted her train of thought.

"So Kairi. You ready?"

"Oh. Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school. Bye Roxas. Bye Sora."

Sora smiled and waved lightly at Kairi, who blushed a bit and waved goodbye.

As Kairi and Rikku walked down the streets towards Kairis house Rikku glanced at Kairi a few times. Kairi noticed and eventually got annoyed. She turned to Rikku and put her hands on her hips.

"Why do you keep staring at me Rikku?"

"You know why. I saw you and Sora glancing at each other. Do you like him?"

Kairi was glad it was dark. Her cheeks were going beet red.

"N...no! Not like that! He seems like a cool guy. But I don't _like him_ like him. I only just broke up with Axel. I'm happy with being single for the time being."

"Are you sure Kairi?" Rikku asked slyly. "Yes I'm sure miss nosey!" Kairi said heatedly. Rikku laughed.

"Okay. Come on let's go." Rikku grabbed Kairis hand and they ran the rest of the way to Kairis house. When they got to the door they both hugged and waved goodbye to each other. Kairi went up to her room and did her nightly routine of brushing her teeth and changing into her p.j's before going to bed. She cuddled up to her teddy and smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

**-At Clouds house-**

Sora had gone to his new room soon after Kairi and Rikku left. He was strumming the tune of Seven Nation Army by White Stripes on his guitar. It was getting late but, because Roxas also played guitar, Cloud and Tifa had gotten sound-proof walls. That way they could play all they want without making any noise.

As Sora was playing his guitar Roxas came in. He smiled when he saw Sora play he guitar.

"So...Kairi...she's nice isn't she?" Roxas asked. Hoping to get an answer.

"Yeah. She's nice. I feel sort of bad for her. With her boyfriend breaking up with her and all. You should be ashamed for trying to make her socialize with people so early." Roxas however ignored Soras last comment.

"Oh. So do you like her?" Roxas asked casually. He was trying to trick Sora into giving him a truthful answer but Sora wasn't going to fall for that.

"Define the words 'like her' Roxas."

Roxas cursed himself. His cousin was smarter than he thought.

"Well me and Rikku both noticed that you two kept glancing at each other. At one point you were staring at her for almost two minutes. I just thought that you liked her."

"Uh no. I was just uh... well I don't like her that way. She's very sweet and charming. Besides, if I did like her and she liked me I doubt I'd have much experience in the relationships department."

"Really? I though there were a good few girls in Radiant Garden that you said were good looking."

"Well they are but...they're like dolls. And they don't really respect themselves. I just want to meet a girl who isn't obsessive about her appearance and is a...uh...well you know."

Roxas looked at his cousin confused. "No I don't know. A girl that's what?"

"A girl that's...well...a...virgin."

"Why do you want a virgin girlfriend?"

"Because...I'm.....a virgin too."

Sora closed his eyes and waited for the laughter to begin. When it didn't come after two minutes he opened his eyes to see Roxas just sitting there casually, as if Sora had told him the weather. The confused look on Soras face told Roxas everything Sora was thinking.

"What? Sora did you actually think I would laugh at you? So what if your a virgin."

"You...you mean you don't care?"

"Hell no. In fact a lot of people here don't care. They find it as a personal thing. If you are a virgin. Fair play for not giving into peer pressure and keeping it for someone special."

"Yeah. But that's the problem Roxas. I don't know if I'll ever meet my special someone."

"You'll meet her man. One day. Trust me."

Roxas got up and made his way to leave. Before he left the room he turned to Sora one more time.

"Hey Sora. I know this may seem a bit forward but...can you sing?"

"Uh yeah. I guess."

"Well I already know your good with the guitar. I was just wondering if, maybe, you wanted to join our band. There's me on the electric guitar, Riku on the bass guitar and Hayner on the drums. We need a new singer slash electric guitarist after our old one quit. You interested?"

"Yeah sure."

"Great! We're gonna be rehearsing after school tomorrow. We can meet in the music room. Well goodnight."

"Night Roxas. Hey wait! What's the bands name?!" Sora shouted after his cousin.

"Kingdom Hearts!"

When Roxas left the room Sora set his guitar down and lay in bed. At first he though why anyone would pick a god awful name like that for a band but eventually learned to accept it. As he started drifting off to sleep he thought of what happened today. He saw his relatives after almost ten years, he saw a beautiful girl, and his cousin didn't make fun of him about being a virgin and he now had a shot at being in a band. Things were definitely looking up for him.

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**Please review. It'd cheer me up to know that my story is enjoyable for you.**


	5. The Morning After

**I own nothing from Kingdom Hearts. But wouldn't it be so cool if I did?**

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Chapter 5: The morning after

_"Sora. Sora wake up. SORA!"_

Sora fell out of bed in shock as Rikku screamed his name. He was about to get up and tell her off when he realized he was in nothing but a shirt and boxers. Feeling his face heat up he quickly pulled down the blanket off his bed and covered himself.

"Rikku! Get out! I need to get changed!"

Rikku just laughed.

"Well hurry up. You have an hour. Go take a shower or something. You stink!"

"I'm a guy. It's expected." Sora said smartly.

"Yeah whatever. Here this is your new school uniform."

"What! We have to wear uniforms? Aww man."

Rikku just giggled. "Stop complaining. Go get a shower then come downstairs for breakfast."

Rikku skipped out of the room and left Sora on the floor. Aside from being annoyed about wearing a uniform he did feel kind of nervous. He was going to a new school. Roxas, Rikku and Kairi were going there. Not to mention all their other friends.

_"Hmm. I wonder what Kairi would look like in uniform. NO! Bad Sora! Stop getting ideas!"_

He gently slapped himself a few times to get rid of the images in his head before going into the bathroom for his shower.

Sora gaped at the size of the bathroom. It was about as big as a garage. He knew that Tifa and Cloud owned a delivery company on the islands but he never realized they were this well off.

"Sometimes it pays to have wealthy relatives." He said to himself.

Hearing his stomach grumble for food, Sora quickly stripped off his shirt and boxers and jumped into the shower. He shouted in surprise when he found that the water was freezing! He wondered for half a second if maybe the hot water was broken, then remembered he was on a tropical island, so of course the water would be cold. He finally finished the shower and dried himself off quickly. He then went on put on a new pair of boxers and his uniform. It consisted of a white shirt, navy-blue pants, white shoes and a light blue tie with blue and white stripes cutting through it.

Sora quickly put on everything but the tie, mostly because he thought he would strangle himself if he tried to, so he decided to wear his dads' chain. He grabbed his guitar, put it in its case and brought it downstairs to the kitchen. He nearly flooded the place with drool as he smelled the various sorts of food that was laid out. Bacon, toast, cereal, sausages, eggs, pancakes, waffles. Basically everything Sora had dreamed of having for breakfast all at once.

"Well." His aunt Tifa said as she came up behind him. "Dig in."

* * *

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

Kairi groaned angrily as her alarm clock woke her from her sleep. She covered her head with her blanket and lifted her fist out and started hitting away at the clock until she got the snooze button. It was too late now though. She was already awake.

"Stupid clock. If it wasn't for you I could sleep all day."

Kairi sat up from bed and went to the bathroom and started the shower. She undressed and quickly got in, the cold water quickly washing away any sleep from her. She sat there for a few minutes after cleaning herself, letting the cool water refresh her body, before getting out and drying herself except for her hair, which she let dry on its own.

She went to her dresser and pulled it open carefully, making sure nothing fell out and hit her on the head. She wasn't the greatest at keeping her dresser tidy. She pulled out her uniform and a bra and some underwear and quickly put them on. The uniform was similar to the boys' uniform. White shirt, white shoes, and a light blue tie. The only difference was that the girls wore a checkered skirt and navy-blue socks.

After getting dressed her mother called her down for breakfast. Kairi went down the stairs and smiled at her mother when she went into the kitchen.

"Hello honey. What would you like to eat?" Kairi's mother, Rinoa, asked.

"Pancakes please mom." Kairi said sweetly.

Kairi loved her mother deeply. Her father had always been away on business and her mother eventually couldn't take it anymore. They had divorced over three years ago. They still kept in contact and whenever he was in town they would all go out and do something, like see a movie or go to a restaurant. Kairi sometimes thought that they still loved each other, they just didn't want to be together because it didn't work last time. Kairi and Rinoa were like sisters. They told each other everything. Well almost everything. Kairi still didn't tell her that she broke up with Axel.

"So how was the party yesterday? Is Rikkus cousin nice?"

"Yeah he's nice. Him and Roxas look alike. Although his hair is spikier."

"Oh really? So what's his name?"

"Sora." Kairi said happily. Too late she realized she said it _too_ happily. Even though her mother had her back to her she knew she was smirking.

"Well it's seems that you like him."

"What? No! Rikku already did this with me last night mom. I don't like him _that_ way."

"I guess your right. After all you're still with Axel."

"Uh…yeah about that mom. Me and Axel sort of…well we kinda broke up yesterday."

"What!? Oh honey I'm so sorry. I can't believe it. Do you want to stay home today?"

Kairi smiled at her mothers concern. "No mom it's okay. I'll be fine."

As Kairi began eating the pancakes her mother made for her she noticed that someone was missing. Her little sister Naminé.

"Hey mom. Where's Nami?" Kairi always called Naminé that. When Kairi said it was if it was Naminés real name.

"Hmm? Oh she was staying over at Selphies last night. I do hope she got some sleep. That Selphie is always running about the place."

Kairi laughed and finished the remainder of her breakfast. When she finished she ran upstairs and brushed her teeth and grabbed her iPod, then grabbed her bag and went back downstairs.

"I'm going to school now! I'll see you later mom!"

"See you honey. I might be at work late tonight. Dinner will be in the fridge."

Kairi shut the front door and ran to the bus stop. When she got there she saw Naminé, Selphie and Olette waiting for the bus.

"Hey guys!" Kairi shouted as she ran up to them. They all said hey back. Happy to see one of their best friends.

"So Kairi." Selphie said. "What happened between you and Axel?"

"What? What happened between Kairi and Axel?" Olette asked curiously.

"Selphie said she heard that Axel broke up with Kairi." Naminé explained

Kairi felt her face heat up. Why did Selphie have to be such a gossip. She always seemed to find out things before anyone else did.

"It's nothing guys. We just broke up. He wanted to bring our relationship to the next level, I didn't. So he broke up with me."

Olette walked over to Kairi and hugged her.

"He's such a jerk. I didn't want to tell you because I thought you would get mad but while you were going out with him I saw him chatting to a few girls. He was probably hitting on them because they looked at him in disgust when he finished talking. One girl even slapped him."

"Well at least I don't have to deal with him anymore. Now I'm just going to wait until the right guy comes along."

"That's so romantic." Selphie said dreamily.

"Selphie. You think everything is romantic." Naminé replied.

After five minutes of chatting idly the bus came. The four girls quickly got on and sat in the seats they always occupied, which was near the back. As the bus started to drive off Selphie, Olette and Naminé sat up and stared at Kairi.

"What? Is there something in my hair?" Kairi asked.

"Nope. We were just wondering about the party you went to yesterday." Selphie said.

"Party? Why wasn't I invited?" Naminé said pouting.

"Because we went to the Besaid Island remember. For the trip." Olette said sighing. Naminé usually forgot things sometimes.

"I know we were on a trip but I still wanted to be invited."

"Okay guys that's enough." Selphie said quickly. She then turned to Kairi.

"Okay. Tell us. How was the party?" Selphie asked excitedly.

"Well…."

* * *

"Sora hurry and brush your teeth! The bus is almost here!" Roxas shouted from the sitting room.

Sora snapped out of his breakfast induced trance. It was the greatest breakfast he had ever eaten. He quickly ran up the stairs and into his room. He grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed his teeth as quick as he could.

"Sora hurry!" He heard the familiar squeal from Rikku.

Sora swallowed the toothpaste, most likely going to regret it later, and ran out of the bathroom. He dived over his bed to reach the side table and grab his iPod. He then ran for the door, grabbing his bag as he was running, and literally jumped down the stairs. Roxas was at the end of the stairs waiting for him.

"This isn't a time for showing off. Let's go before we miss that bus!"

After Sora and Roxas got their guitars all three of the teenagers ran out the door after hurried goodbyes to Cloud and Tifa. They didn't stop running until they reached the bus stop.

"Remind me….to get…an alarm…clock!" Sora said gasping.

Luckily the three teens had arrived a few minutes early, which gave them a chance to catch their breath. Roxas came over to Sora and put his hand on his shoulder.

"A few things you should know about your new friends. You already know about Kairi so I'll tell you about the others.  
Riku seems like a ladies man or a bit of an emo. Depends on which way you see him. But trust me, he's an awesome friend.  
Yuffie is a gymnast. She always wears a bandanna so she sometimes thinks of herself as the greatest ninja ever. Don't ask why, coz frankly we don't know. It's scary sometimes.  
Wakka is our school blitzball captain. One of the best we've had so far. He could hang out with all the jocks but he finds them annoying. He'd rather hang out with us.  
Selphie...you would want to keep quiet around her. You tell her a secret and in fifteen minutes the whole school would know."

"How many people are at Destiny High?" Sora asked.

"Over three hundred. Yeah I know. I didn't think she could get word out that fast either but I was proven wrong.  
Now for Tidus, he's second in command of the blitzball team. And believe me when I say you won't find anyone more into it blitzball than he is.  
Olette is one of the smart ones in the group. She's really nice but she's a pain in the butt when it comes to homework. She always bugs us till we do it.  
Hayner is the local underdog in our group. Other people always try to put him down but he never let's them get to him. He's been the struggle champion in our school for two years now. The only person that could beat him outright would be Riku, but he doesn't do struggle tournaments. You get a lot of entertainment when Hayner and Tidus argue about which is better, blitzball or struggle tournaments.  
Pence is the school photographer, he'll take a picture of anything if a story can be made out of it. So expect a lot of flashes and a story of you in the school paper tomorrow.  
And as for Naminé, she's Kairi's little sister by about a year. She's going to be a bit quiet around you. She's quiet around anyone she doesn't know. She's cute that way."

Sora noticed a small tinge of pink appear in Roxas' cheeks. Sora smiled evilly.

"Oh so you like Naminé? Hey Rikku! Roxas li..oomph!"

Before Sora could finish his sentence Roxas clamped his hand around Soras mouth. Rikku just stared at them confused.

"Heh. He was just uh…that I like...um. Carrots! Yeah. He was going to say I like carrots."

"Okay? Whatever." Rikku said. Most likely she was thinking that she was standing beside two insane people. Luckily the bus was coming. Roxas removed his hand from Soras mouth and punched him in the shoulder.

"Sora please. Don't tell anybody that I like Naminé. I want to be able to tell her myself when the time is right."

"Okay Roxas. I won't tell. But if I find out that she's waiting for you to say something I'm going to tell her right there and then. Deal?"

"Deal." The two boys gave each other a high five and walked over to the bus, which had just stopped. When they got on the bus Sora just stood there.

"Umm…Roxas? Where do we sit?"

"We sit back there. Bad news. The guys were staying at Wakkas house last night so they walked to school. So were stuck with the girls."

Roxas and Sora made their way to the back of the bus. Sora instantly recognised the red hair that was near the window. Beside her was a blonde haired girl and in the two seats behind her was two brunettes. In front of Kairis seat sat Rikku, who was facing Kairi. Sora and Roxas sat in the seat opposite them, with Sora near the window. He was getting nervous, what if they didn't like him.

"Hey Sora. Come and say hey to the guys." Roxas said slyly, knowing that Sora didn't want to do this. Sora glared at his cousin. And shook his head. Rikku just smiled and decided to join in.

"Aww come on Sora. You getting embarrassed?"

Sora just groaned and sat up. He bent over and shook the girls' hands one by one.

"Hey. I'm Sora. Roxas and Rikkus cousin." Sora muttered.

"Hi. I'm Olette." Olette said kindly

"I'm Naminé." Naminé said quietly. Roxas was right. She was shy.

"Hey there! I'm Selphie!" Selphie squealed excitedly.

"Hey Sora." Sora smiled. This time it was Kairi who spoke.

"Hey Kairi. Good to see your okay. I was worried Rikku would have gotten you lost last night."

"Hey! You've only been here for a day. How would you know that I would end up getting lost?

"Because you don't need a day to learn what your like."

Everyone, including Rikku started laughing at Soras comment and they chatted away as the bus made its way to the school. Sora realized that he was glancing at Kairi again. And Kairi knew that she was glancing at him as well. Luckily nobody noticed this, especially Selphie, who would start making accusations in a second.

When the bus reached the school they all got off as quick as they could to get inside to the air conditioning. When they got inside Sora said goodbye to the others, as he had to go to the office and get registered and get his time table. After twenty long laborious minutes the secretary finally finished registering him and gave him his time table. He groaned when he saw what he had today.

First period: Al bhed  
Second period: English  
Third period: Religion  
Fourth period: Lunch  
Fifth period: P.E  
Sixth period: Maths  
Seventh period: Music  
Eight period: Study class

"This is not a good line up."

Sora slowly made his way to first period. He stood outside for about two minutes, trying to stay out of his class as long as possible, before giving up and knocking on the door. He heard a gruff 'come in' and opened the door. There were about fifteen people in the class overall and the teacher. The teacher had blonde hair and a toothpick in his mouth. And he looked at Sora as if he said something weird written all over his face.

"Can ah help you boy?"

"Uh yeah. I just moved here. I'm looking for my language class."

"Ah so you're the new boy. Names Cid. Call me mister and I'll hang you off the flag pole. Well go take a seat son. I ain't giving you an intro. Hate the darn things. Go sit with Ms. Uchida over there."

Sora looked to where Cid was pointing and fought back a smile. Already he was starting to like his language class. He walked over to his seat and set his bag and guitar down. He then sat at his seat.

"Hey Kairi."

"Hey Sora. I can't believe your in my class."

"Me neither."

"Well we better get to work. Or else Cid will have our heads."

Both teens opened their books and tried to read them. But it was futile. All they could think about was that they were sitting next to each other. Today was going to be a _very_ interesting day.

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**I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever done in my entire life. And to my reviewers chickenman00712, TwilightExistence and little dhampir-93 I thank you so much. If you could dpread the word or comment on things I could improve on it would be greatly appreciated.  
**


	6. Promise

**Nothing is owned by me, aside from the storyline.**

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Chapter six: Promise

Sora was surprised at how quickly lunch had come around. The day had gone by so fast, and he quickly made friends with the gang. In his language class he had learned that not only was Kairi attending but also Rikku and Pence, a short slightly heavy boy with a camera hanging around his neck and wearing a sweatband, so that his hair looked somewhat like a pineapple. Sora instantly decided from then on to listen to Roxas' advice, as he was soon blinded by the flash of Pence's camera.

After recovering from his temporary blindness Sora went to his English class. To his surprise both he and Kairi had the same English class too. They had agreed to look at each others time tables and found that they were in the same class for everything but P.E, religion and history. In English he learned that not only was Kairi there, but Roxas was too, along with two other boys known as Hayner and Tidus. Hayner had light blonde hair that stuck straight up, while Tidus had dark blonde hair that stuck out at different places. Both boys also wore a chain that held the symbol of their favorite sport. Tidus had a chain with a small blitzball attached, while Hayner had a small struggle bat on his. When the class had to read their homework assignments Sora had a feeling that something was going to happen. Unsurprisingly, he was right. The two boys started arguing again which sport was better and it almost turned into a fist fight until their teacher, Ms. Quistis, stopped them. Sora and Roxas were howling with laughter, while Kairi just sighed and said 'boys' even though she was giggling as well.

Sora couldn't remember what religion was like. All he remembered was that he had met the blitzball team captain, Wakka. Sora and Wakka were having a conversation and it went along pretty well, until the teacher, Mr. Seymour, came in and started droning on about who knows what. Sora was almost about to fall out of his seat when the bell rang, waking him up and telling him it was time for lunch.

Sora sighed as he sat down in the cafeteria. It was mostly empty and none of his new friends or his cousins had arrived yet.

As he was about to eat his packed lunch, something he always did after an incident back at his old school involving spaghetti, a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" The voice said sweetly. Sora smiled and shouted in horror.

"Oh no! The boogeyman got me! Help me!"

"So-ra!" Kairi whined. Sora turned around and laughed. Both teens felt their cheeks feeling hot. Wasn't this the sort of things couples did?

"Hey Kairi. What's up?"

"Oh I was just wondering how you were doing. Do you like the school?"

"Yeah it's awesome. The only bad thing is religion. I actually fell asleep." Sora exclaimed. Kairi gigged and sat beside him.

"Yeah well you have Mr. Seymour. He always makes people fall asleep." Kairi looked at the brown bag sitting upon the table. "So…what are you doing?"

"I was about to eat lunch." Sora said simply. Kairi looked at him shocked.

"On your own? No way! Come on. Let's sit at the usual table."

Kairi grabbed his hand and they both immediately blushed. Kairi had dragged Sora halfway across the cafeteria before stopping at a rather large table, which was empty. Sora looked at Kairi questionably.

"They take _ages_ to come from their classes." Kairi explained. Sora nodded in understanding and both teens sat down.

Sora and Kairi chatted idly for about five minutes when Kairi jumped a little out of her seat and then sunk down in shame.

"Kairi? What's wrong?"

Kairi didn't answer him, she just pointed at the entrance to the cafeteria. Sora turned to the door and looked at the mass of students coming in from the door. Sora didn't know exactly what he was looking for until he saw them.

They were both around seventeen years of age. The boy had fiery red hair which spiked at the end, he had green eyes with little triangles under each eye. Whether they were birthmarks or tattoos Sora didn't know. He was about six foot two and his uniform looked like it had been in a blender. There were various tears in his shirt and pants. Obviously trying to look tough and cool. All Sora thought was that he was failing miserably. The girl he was with had short blonde hair with two bits sticking out like a pair of bug antennas and with light blue eyes. Her uniform looked normal except that it was one size too small, making it a bit more revealing. She was around five foot nine. Sora didn't need to figure out who they were. Axel and Larxene, Kairi's ex-boyfriend and the tramp Kairi was replaced with.

An unexpected anger rose inside of Sora. He was wondering how Axel could have left Kairi for that…thing?

Axel and Larxene made their way past the table where Sora and Kairi were sitting, slowing down as they passed Kairi and Larxene started cooing over Axel to taunt her. Kairi slid further down into her seat, humiliated as she heard them snickering as they walked away. She felt worse than yesterday, when Axel had broken up with her. Had it really been a day?

"I…I'm going to go Sora. I…I can't…" Kairi got up and was about to leave but Sora shot up from his seat and stopped her. She looked at him but instead of his usual smile he had a hard expression on his face.

"Kairi? Are you serious when you said that _he_ is your ex-boyfriend?" Sora said calmly. Kairi just nodded and Sora sighed.

"Kairi. You know what. I'm glad he broke up with you. He didn't deserve you. How you ended up going out with him in the first place I'll never know. But you deserve better than him. Larxene is nothing but a tramp. And if that's the way she is now then I doubt she'll amount to anything later in life. But I'm annoyed at you too. Do me a favor. Think of everything that you liked about Axel, aside from his looks."

Kairi thought for about three minutes before she realized that nothing came to mind. After all she already knew she only thought Axel was good looking.

"Well? Anything?" Sora asked.

"N…no. I can't think of anything."

"Well that means that you thought of him nothing more than a good looking guy that was your boyfriend. There's no reason for you to let him get to you. And as long as I'm around I won't let him. I promise."

Kairi didn't say anything, she just moved closer to Sora and gave him a hug, making the spiky haired boy blush. Kairi was blushing as well but was also smiling for having found just a good friend. But could it change to something more?

"Oh. My. God!"

Sora and Kairi turned their heads in the direction of the voice and instantly wished they owned a time machine. At the entrance to the cafeteria stood the most hyperactive person of the group, Selphie. She was pointing at them, her mouth flapping like that of a goldfish. Sora and Kairi were still hugging. They quickly broke apart but it was done. By the end of the day _everyone_ was going to think that Kairi Uchida and the new kid, Sora Hikari, were dating.

_"Damn it!"_ Both Sora and Kairi thought.

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**Meh, felt like being cruel =3. So anyways reviews would be nice, or a map, a map to where I shall not tell you. Tis a secret.**


	7. Secrets And Questions

**Pen Monkey: I got all nice again, guess I've to let Sora and Kairi off the hook. Although Sora will hate me later.**

**Sora: Got that right!**

**Pen Monkey: Um, what are you doing here?**

**Sora: Revenge! Pen Monkey does not own Kingdom Hearts, but I'll own his spleen when I'm done with him!**

**Pen Monkey: Oo-er!**

Chapter seven: Secrets and Questions

"I can't believe you two are going out already." Roxas said.

"Yeah. What happened to 'until I meet the perfect guy' Kairi?" Rikku said giggling.

"We're not going out!" Sora shouted at his cousins. The rest of the group had joined Sora, Kairi and Selphie in the cafeteria, and Selphie had wasted no time in telling the group that Kairi and Sora were dating.

"Well if you're not dating why were you two hugging?" A raven-haired girl, who Sora learned was Yuffie, asked questionably. Everyone leaned in to hear the answer.

"Because I got upset." Kairi began. "Axel and Larxene walked past and she started cuddling up to him to make me feel bad. I was going to leave but Sora told me Axel was nothing but a jerk and promised he wouldn't let them make me feel bad anymore."

There was a resounding "aww" coming from the girls of the group and Kairi blushed, while there was sniggering from the boys which made Sora groan in embarrassment. A boy with silvery lilac colored hair and blue eyes, known as Riku, spoke up.

"Hey Sora. You should be proud. Not many guys would stand up to Axel. He has some…questionable friends. If you do confront him, be careful. Especially if you're dating Kairi." Riku said smirking, causing more sniggering and causing Sora to turn bright red.

"Look guys." Sora began. "I like Kairi but I barely know her. She's just a friend but I don't want to be her boyfriend."

Kairi nodded in agreement, but couldn't help feel saddened by his words.

_"Am I…am I starting to like him? No way! I barely know him. Like he said we're just friends."_

Eventually the group dropped the conversation of Kairi and Sora dating each other. They even managed to stop Selphie from spreading the rumor, much to the relief of Sora and Kairi. The group moved on to talking about upcoming events, like the battle of the bands and the struggle and blitzball tournaments. But Kairi couldn't really focus on the group, she was too busy thinking about Soras promise.

_" There's no reason for you to let him get to you. And as long as I'm around I won't let him. I promise."_

"I hope you can keep your promise Sora." Kairi whispered to herself.

When lunch ended Sora, Roxas, Hayner, Pence and Selphie said goodbye to the others and made their way to the gym for P.E. Sora assumed that their P.E teacher had a serious case of sugar rush. Mr. Demy was the youngest teacher Sora had so far. He had a cocky grin and a blonde mullet and he held a big bottle of water in his hand. Roxas quickly explained that Mr. Demy, or Demyx as people called him, was obsessive about water, so they were most likely swimming today. Sora tensed up at the thought of swimming and Roxas noticed this instantly.

"Hey Sora you okay?" Roxas asked concerned.

"Y…yeah. I'm uh…I'm not too sure I should swim though. I don't have any swimming gear anyway."

"Oh don't worry. I've got a spare pair of trunks and an extra towel. You can use those. Besides you have to go swimming. It's a big thing here and if you don't do it your grades will suffer."

Sora cursed himself for having to have landed on an island. Things were looking up until he learned he had to swim. He had to tell Roxas before he found it out on his own.

"Umm Roxas is there any place where I can talk to you in private?"

"No. We'll have to wait until everyone else gets changed and goes out. Why?"

"Just wait. I'll show you in a minute."

Sora and Roxas sat down and waited in silence until all the other boys left the boys changing room. Sora was thankful that the boys and girls changing rooms were separate. If Selphie had walked in and saw what he was about to show Roxas he would never be able to stop her from telling people.

"Okay. So what's up? Why don't you want to go swimming? Can you not swim?"

"Heh. No Roxas. I can swim just fine. It's just that….well I don't like showing my body." Sora said sheepishly.

"That's it? Sora come on, not everyone here has a great body. Take Pence for example. He may be a slight bit chubby but that doesn't stop him from swimming like a dolphin. Everyone has a different body. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Go outside ,give me a few minutes and I'll show you why I don't like showing my body. "

Roxas nodded his head and went outside to wait for Sora. After ten minutes the door opened and Roxas heard Sora telling him to come in.

"About time Sora. I was almost…what the heck!?" Roxas half shouted.

Sora just sighed and waited until Roxas stopped staring at his body. It wasn't chubby or pierced or anything that most people would have but was bruised and swollen, very badly. All over his shoulders, upper chest, lower chest, sides, his thighs and even his hands. Roxas never noticed his hands as Sora had always been wearing gloves. Some of the bruises were faded, but the others looked about two days old.

"S…Sora, what happened to you?" Roxas said shakily.

"There was this incident last year. I got into a fight with some guys from school. He told me that I should watch my back, because one day there'd be a knife in it. He was right. But thankfully he didn't use the knife. He pretty much pummeled everywhere else every chance he got. You have no idea what it was like bandaging myself up after that."

"So…is that why you don't want to go swimming?"

"I'm actually not sure. I don't mind going swimming. I'm just not comfortable with everyone staring at me."

Roxas smiled and put his hand on Soras shoulder.

"Hey don't worry man. With me and the guys with you we'll make sure nobody makes too big a deal about it. Although I can't guarantee that we will be able to stop my mom from fussing over you."

"Well I managed to keep it from my mom. So maybe we could keep it from her too." Sora said.

"Haha. Keep thinking that. My mom isn't easy to hide things from. So…are you ready to go out for a swim?"

Sora smiled and picked up the towel that Roxas had let him borrow.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Sora and Roxas left the boy's changing room, ready for the stares of the students. The truth was Sora wasn't worried about anybody seeing him beside Kairi. He didn't want her to fuss over him and scold him.

* * *

Kairi sat in her science class deep in thought. However she wasn't thinking about the lesson. She was thinking about Sora. She had no idea why she was thinking about him but she just couldn't push him from her mind.

"Hey Kairi. Kairi are you listening?"

"Huh? What?" Kairi snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see who was talking to her. It was Olette.

"I said that I'm having a sleepover on Thursday. Just me, you, Naminé, Rikku, Selphie and Yuffie. Do you want to go?"

Kairi thought about it for a few seconds. It was only Monday. She would have plenty of time to get everything out of the way before the sleepover.

"Yeah I guess so. Count me in."

"Ms. Uchida, Ms. Masaki. Do you care to share what you were talking about?"

Kairi and Olette turned their attention back to their teacher, Mr. Vexen, and quickly shook their heads, blushing a bit.

"No sir. Sorry sir." Olette said quickly.

"Very well. Continue with the experiment. In silence." He said as he stared at Kairi and Olette before walking off.

"Phew. He's so mean." Kairi whispered to Olette.

"I know. And his laugh is so creepy. Hayner said that he's a pervert."

"Olette you believe almost everything Hayner tells you." Kairi said bluntly.

"Well…I like him. So what?"

"Well I was wondering when you were going to tell him you like him. Everyone knows that Hayner isn't the best at these things. He's afraid of screwing up. I heard from Roxas that he thinks you're cute."

"Really? Since when?" Olette said confused. However she couldn't hide the slight happiness in her voice.

"Since you had helped him study for his maths test that one time. He said the only reason he failed after all your help was because he was too busy focused on you."

Olettes cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and both girls just giggled. They whispered conversation to each other, while avoiding letting Mr. Vexen overhear them. They talked a little bit about what they would do at the sleepover until Olette changed the subject.

"So Kairi. Did you really believe what Sora said? About you two never going to be boyfriend and girlfriend?" Olette noticed Kairi had turned a shade of red but didn't mention it. Kairi looked like she was about to explode in embarrassment.

"Well…I'm not sure. I don't really know him. He seems nice and I would like to get to know him."

"But I thought you said you didn't want to be in a relationship until you met the perfect guy?"

"Yeah. I don't want a relationship but…Sora's just so mysterious. I mean he doesn't speak much about his own life. I mean I know what he did that caused him to be sent here and that he's related to Roxas and Rikku but aside from that I know nothing about him. It's kind of frustrating. He also hates guys who like girls because of their body. He said that he doesn't really look at girls' bodies, but instead he looks at girls eyes. He already knows what the other girls are like. He says that Naminé is quiet and down to earth, he says that Selphie is the one who is shy and timid on the inside but hides it underneath a crazy personality, he said that Rikku and Yuffie are kind and gentle even though they threatened to shave off Hayner and Tidus' hair if they didn't stop fighting about which sport is better for one day, and he said that you are the intelligent one and you use that intelligence to help your friends, which makes you strong mentally."

"Wow that's so sweet. What did he say about yours Kairi?"

"I don't know."

"What you mean he hasn't told you?" Olette asked, not understanding why Sora would tell Kairi everyone else's personality but not hers.

"He tried to tell me. He said he doesn't know. He said that it's like looking at a sea during a storm. In other words I'm mysterious."

"Oh my gosh. Kairi that's _so_ romantic." Olette said dreamily.

"Seriously you and Selphie have to get a test to see if you're related." Kairi said smiling. Eventually the two girls had stopped talking as Mr. Vexen stood nearby. But while they were doing their experiments in silence Kairi couldn't help but wonder.

_"Who is Sora Hikari?"_

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**Pen Monkey: Did I just make a tiny little Twilight reference? I've lost the will to write this! *Takes own life***

**Kairi: Okay then? We'll ship him off to hospital and patch him up. In the meantime press the pretty review button and you'll all get a kiss. Mwah!**


	8. More than Lyrics

**Sora: He still in hospital? **

**Kairi: Yep, guess we're in charge now?**

**Sora: Yeah, of those stupid disclaimers. *Sigh* Pen Monkey does not own Kingdom Hearts.**

**--------**

Chapter 8: More than Lyrics

Sora dried himself off quickly after P.E in an effort to get out of the gym as quick as possible. When he had went out to the pool he heard a few people muttering and a gasp that belonged to Selphie. Obviously people were going to come up to him and ask how he got the bruises but thankfully Mr. Demy told them to get in the pool, apparently not wanting anyone to bother Sora on his first day. Sora was thankful but he knew that Mr. Demy was just as interested in how he got the injuries, no doubt the other teachers would find out. And Selphie was sure to come over and ask him and tell the others.

"Sora hurry up and get dressed. Pence can't distract Selphie much longer." Roxas shouted into the changing rooms.

"I'm still getting dried! This damn towel is useless on my hair!" Sora shouted back.

"Just put on your uniform, the sun will dry your hair."

Muttering to himself, Sora dropped the towel and quickly got changed into his uniform and hastily pulled on his black gloves before running out to meet Roxas, who had already changed.

"About time. Come on. Let's go before…"

"Aha! There you are Sora!"

Sora and Roxas turned and stared straight at Selphie, who was about ten feet away from them, Pence stood behind her, obviously exhausted from trying to stop her getting to Sora.

"Sora I want to know how you got those bruises!"

"Hey Sora. You thinking what I'm thinking?" Roxas said slyly.

"I think I do." Sora replied slowly. "RUN!"

Before Selphie had time to react both Sora and Roxas ran out of the gym. Seeing as they were taller than Selphie they easily distanced themselves from the hyperactive teen. They stopped outside their maths class and just laughed about it.

"You know she's going to get you later." Roxas said after catching his breath.

"Yeah but this way I don't have to tell her right now. Besides if I am going to be telling all the guys I want it to be all at once. I don't want to be repeating myself."

"Well we can do it in music class. All of us are in that class. And there's a teacher meeting on after school so we'll have to hold the audition during that class. We even picked out a song for you to sing but we're not telling you the name of the song."

"Why not? That's kind of unfair." Sora said.

"Yeah but this way we can see what you're like when you're stuck in a moment. Don't worry it's not going to be an impossible song. Trust me."

"Well I have to trust you. You're my cousin after all. And because if you try and humiliate me I'll just tell Naminé that you like her."

"You wouldn't!" Roxas said nervously.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Sora said smirking.

The two boys went into their maths class and sat down in front of Kairi, Naminé an Olette. This was the first class Sora had seen Naminé and Olette in. It was as if they never went to any class but this one. Naminé, having gotten to know Sora, nudged the girls to tell them that the two boys were there. They looked up and waved lightly. When Naminé focused her eyes on Roxas he could literally feel the heat rising from his cousins cheeks. It was official, Roxas _really_ liked Naminé.

"Hey Sora, Roxas. The gang's going out for an ice cream later. Want to come?" Olette asked.

Sora and Roxas looked at each other and muttered quietly to each other about going or not, the girls just giggled. They knew that the boys always did this and they always said yes. Even if Sora was new he would say yes anyway. Finally they both turned back to the girls.

"Sure why not." Sora said smiling. It had been his first day at school and already he had more friends than he had back home. And to think he didn't want to move here.

"Great. We'll be outside after school, by the beach." Kairi said happily.

"Okay. We'll be there." Roxas said as Sora was too busy smiling back at Kairi.

Eventually Roxas managed to get Sora turned away from Kairi and focused on the lesson. However their maths teacher, Mr. Hades, a very odd teacher who had blue hair and slightly blue skin, as if he was part smurf, instinctively didn't like Sora, and picked on him for any little thing. Near the end of class Mr. Hades made one more attempt to embarrass Sora.

"Mr. Hikari why are you wearing gloves in my class?" Mr. Hades said sharply.

"Uhh…my…uhh…hands are cold?" Sora said feebly, knowing Mr. Hades wouldn't fall for it.

"Your hands are cold? It's one of the hottest days of the year on a tropical island and your hands are cold?" Mr. Hades said skeptically.

"Uhh…yeah?"

"A likely story Mr. Hikari. Now take them off."

Sora froze. Take his gloves off? If he did that then everyone would see his scars, he knew that rumors would be spread around but that's all they would have been, just rumors. He didn't want to show people it was true.

"Uh sir. I don't think he should take off his gloves." Roxas said shakily. He was always kind of frightened of Mr. Hades. He looked like he was a zombie ready to eat brains or something.

"Mr. Strife this is none of your concern. Mr. Hikari I'm not going to repeat myself. Take off your gloves."

When Sora made no movement Mr. Hades stood up off his chair and went over to Sora. But before Mr. Hades had a chance to grab Soras arm Sora took off the glove and showed his hand to Mr. Hades. There was a few gasps of shock as a few students saw Soras hand. He knew one of those gasps belonged to Kairi.

"V…very well…Mr. Hikari. You may keep your gloves on. Class dismissed."

Sora put his glove back on and hurriedly packed his bag and tried for the door, but was stopped by Kairi, who had a concerned and slightly angry look on her face. Before Sora could stop her she grabbed his hand and pulled the glove off, examining his hand closely, tracing her fingers over the old wounds.

"Sora? How did this happen. This is just horrible." Kairi said worriedly.

"It's okay Kairi. Nothing to worry about."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I couldn't. Nobody back there really believed me much. Besides they'd just send me into counseling saying I did it."

"Oh my gosh Sora. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? It's not your fault. Don't worry about it Kairi. I mean it's not going to happen anymore right?" Sora said happily, trying to cheer her up.

"I guess."

"Hey come on. Let's go to the music room. I'm trying out for Kingdom Hearts."

Kairi's head shot up. "You mean the band Roxas, Riku and Hayner are in?"

"Yeah. Roxas asked me last night if I could sing and I said yeah. So they're holding an audition for me. They won't tell me what song I'm singing though."

"Heh. That's mean of them. Well whatever song it is I'm sure you'll do great."

"If you two are done?" The familiar voice of Riku came from behind them. Riku walked over to them and put his arm around each of their shoulders, making them walk faster, and Sora could see why. About twelve girls, all older than him, were following Riku excitedly.

"So Riku." Sora began. "What song am I singing anyway?"

"Well after much thought we couldn't pick a song. So we just made a list of songs and we'll let you choose."

"Well that seems fair. Doesn't it Sora?" Kairi asked

"Well it depends on what songs are on the list." Sora replied.

Both Sora, Riku and Kairi made their way to the music room, where they encountered a very busy Selphie telling everyone what she had seen at P.E. Sora waited for the expected rush of people coming over to him and asking how he got them but Roxas was one step ahead of him, explaining to everyone how he got the bruises. He made his way over to Roxas and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks Roxas."

"Don't mention it."

When Sora, Riku, Roxas and Hayner got their instruments and got ready to play Riku handed Sora a list. Sora gazed down at it for a few minutes before spotting one he was really good at. He told the boys what song they were going to play and went over to the microphone, staring at the small crowd in front of him.

"Hey everybody. My names Sora. And hopefully I'll be the new singer and guitarist for Kingdom Hearts. Today we're gonna play 'The take over, the breaks over' by Fallout boy. Please don't hate me." Sora pouted, causing a few people in the crowd to laugh. When they started playing everyone went silent.

Sora -_ Baby, seasons change but people don't  
And I'll always be waiting in the back room  
I'm boring but overcompensate  
with headlines and flash, flash, flash photography_

_But don't pretend you ever forget 'bout me  
Don't pretend you ever forget 'bout me_

Kairi gaped in amazement at Soras voice. It was surprisingly good. As if it was made for singing. She apparently wasn't the only one thinking it, as a lot of girls were smiling and giving him simpering looks. Happily for her he didn't pay any attention to them.

Sora - _Wouldn't you rather be a widow than a divorcee?  
Style your wake through fashion and magazines  
Widow or a divorcee?  
Don't pretend it, d-d-don't pretend_

Roxas and Riku - _We don't fight fair  
We don't fight fair_

Sora - _They say your head could be your prison  
Then these are just conjugal visits,  
People will dissect us till  
This doesn't mean a thing anymore_

_Don't pretend you ever forget about me  
Don't pretend you ever forget about me_

_Wouldn't you rather be a widow than a divorcee?  
Style your wake through fashion and magazines ooooh  
Widow or a divorcee?  
Don't pretend it, d-d-don't pretend_

_We do it in the dark  
With smiles on our faces  
We're dropped and well concealed  
In secret places (wa-oh)_

_We do it in the dark  
With smiles on our faces  
We're dropped and well concealed  
In secret places_

_We don't fight fair_  
Riku - _We don't fight fair  
We don't fight fair_  
Roxas - _We don't fight fair  
We don't fight fair_

At this point people were standing up and dancing to the music. Kairi however just sat on her seat, too awed at Soras voice to even think properly. How was it that this guy who has been here for only a day managed to get her attention so fast without even trying?

Sora - _We do it in the dark  
With smiles on our faces  
We're dropped and well concealed  
In secret places (wa-oh)  
We do it in the dark  
With smiles on our faces  
We're dropped and well concealed  
In secret places_

_We don't fight fair  
With smiles on our faces  
We're dropped and well concealed  
In secret places_

_We don't fight fair  
_Roxas and Riku- _Don't pretend you ever forget about me  
We don't fight fair  
_Roxas and Riku- _Don't pretend you ever forget about me  
We don't fight fair_

The second Sora and the others finished playing there was a huge round of applause from the small group., which had grown bigger when they had sung the song. But Sora couldn't focus on the crowd. He was too focused on a certain redhead sitting the closest to them. She was smiling, amazed at how good his voice was.

Before Sora could talk to her Riku put his arm over Soras shoulder and grabbed the microphone.

"Everyone. I would just like to say you are looking at out new singer and guitarist for Kingdom Hearts!" Riku declared, apparently happy that they had gotten a replacement.

The crowd cheered and Sora did his fathers trademark sign to show he was happy, he put his hands behind his head and gave a cheesy grin. Kairi giggled, she thought it looked cute. But then a sudden realization came over her.

_"Oh my gosh! I'm crushing on Sora!"_

_**--------**_

**Kairi: *Blushes* Um..erm. Well guess we better end this chapter then.**

**Sora: Hm? Oh sorry I didn't hear you. I was too busy noticing you were crushing on me.**

**Kairi: Oh shut it, or else the only crushing around here will be my foot on your sensitive parts! **

**Sora: Oo-er! Review please before my valuables are damaged!**


	9. All because of an Ice cream

**Pen Monkey: Meh. Sorry bout not posting, been busy lately with stupid school, but I'm finished now so hopefully I'll be able to add more chapters more often. Kairi it's your turn.**

**Kairi: Pen Monkey does not own Kingdom Hearts or any other copyrighted material in this story. **

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Chapter 9: All because of an ice cream

Sora, Roxas, Riku, Hayner and Pence made their way towards Destiny Beach after school. Everyone was relieved to get out of school, especially Sora ,as in his study class many girls threw themselves at him talking about his singing and guitar playing. This annoyed Sora and knew it would make Kairi envious, but she would have been happy to see himself struggle his way out of the droves of girls.

"Hey Sora!"Roxas said. "Why didn't you tell me or the others that you could sing so well?"

Sora smiled and shook his head.

"You asked me if I was any good a singer. You never asked just how good I was."

"Yeah well I'd advise you to go to the struggle store and get a bat. You know, to keep the crowd of girls back. They obviously think you're a bad boy like Riku." Hayner stated.

"A bad boy? No way!" Sora said.

"Actually he's right Sora." Roxas began. "A lot of people know about your bruises now. The girls will think that your tough and throw themselves at you."

"Ugh. I'm not looking forward to that. Now I wish I didn't try out for the band." Sora sighed.

"Really?" Riku asked incredulously.

"No. I love it!" Sora shouted, making the group laugh. As they walked to the beach they talked about everything that happened at school today, and about how they were going to be the greatest band in the worlds. Except for Pence, who was going to be the greatest photographer in the world. All was going well until Hayner instantly changed the subject.

"So guys. New question. Who do you like the most in school and why. First of all you must swear not to tell the girls that the guy likes him. Example. Roxas we all know you like Naminé but we're not allowed tell her that. You have to tell her yourself."

"Sure. So who goes first?" Roxas asked

Sora swallowed hard and felt short of breath. He knew this was going to turn out bad.

"I'll go first." Hayner said. "Well I guess most of you know. I like Olette."

"Really?" Pence asked.

"Yeah. I know she's a lot smarter than me but I really like her, I mean she's just unbelieveably cute. And the way she always nags us to do our homework is kind of funny. Anyway Roxas you're next."

"Well." Roxas began. "As Hayner already pointed out I like Naminé. I don't know why I like her. I used to always hang out with her and you guys but it's only been like the past month since I really started noticing her. I just like the way her hair shines and the way she's shy and I think her drawings are awesome. What about you Pence?"

"Well it's not a girl any of you know." At the realization that Pence liked a girl they didn't know everyone moved in closer, including Sora. Pence quickly started speaking again before he could be overwhelmed by lots of different questions.

"Anyway. Her name is Yuna. She goes to our school, but is in the year below us. I saw her a few times watching me when I was taking pictures and I asked her did she want me to take one of her. She was kind of nervous about it so I told her does she want me in it as well. She said yes so we took a picture together. It was only after I got them developed did I notice how pretty she was. She had two different colored eyes, one green and one blue, and had short dark brown hair. Man guys, she was so pretty."

"Wow Pence." Hayner said. "Looks like you're really into this girl. You should ask her to hang out with us sometime."

"Can't. Her mom is one of those people who don't like their kids around strangers. It's kind of unfair." Pence said sadly. Sora went over to him and put his hand on Pence's shoulder.

"Don't worry Pence. If you two like each other that much then you two will definitely get together. I'm sure of it."

Pence just smiled before turning to Riku. "Okay Riku. Who do you like in school."

"Yuffie." He said simply. Everyone else just gaped in shock.

"Y…Yuffie! As in 'I'm a crazy ninja' Yuffie!? Are you serious!" Hayner said shocked. Apparently Yuffie was a bit more hyper than Sora thought.

"Yeah. I like her. She's not like the other girls. She's sometimes like me, yet sometimes has nothing in common with me. I don't know why but I just like that. But enough about me. It's time for the big finish. Sora, who do you like?" Riku said staring at him.

Sora felt his face go beet red. He knew he was going to end up last but still was unable to prepare himself for it.

"M..me? Well…I..uh…I don't really…I don't know I haven't been here long." Sora said nervously. However he knew the others wouldn't believe that, especially not Roxas.

"Oh really? What about Kairi?" Riku asked.

If it was possible Soras face turned a deeper shade of red, showing everyone the truth. Hayner was the first to speak.

"I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two!"

"Hayner calm down!" Pence shouted. "Sora do you like Kairi?"

"If I say yes will you all stop bugging me about it?" Sora asked quickly.

"Sure." Riku said. "But first you have to tell us _why_ you like her."

"Well. I don't know. I think…maybe…her eyes. They're just like a pair of blue diamonds. And her hair. The way the sun shines off it, it looks like it goes from auburn to a deep red color. And her lightly tanned skin. I mean…wait I'm not telling you guys anymore!" Sora shouted, realizing he ended up talking about how much he liked Kairi."

"Wow." Roxas said simply. "You must really like her man."

Sora sighed. "You have no idea."

* * *

"Kairi you said they were going to be here!" Selphie whined.

Kairi looked at her friend and just sighed. Selphie was never patient. Kairi had told her that the boys, with the exception of Wakka and Tidus who had blitzball practice, were coming to the beach after school. They said they were coming at 4.15. It was now 4.10.

"Selphie stop whining. The still have five minutes." Olette said.

"Yeah but they're boys!" Rikku joined in. "Aren't they like, supposed to be early all the time. You know like the opposite of a girl."

"Well maybe they got caught up in something. You know guys, they probably ran into some guy they don't like and now they're fighting." Naminé said skeptically.

"Naminé why do you always jump to conclusions?" Yuffie and Olette asked simultaneously.

"Because it's typical guy behavior isn't it? They see another guy they don't like then they'll get into a fight with them. I mean that's what Sora did back where he was from didn't he?" At this point Kairi turned around to Naminé.

"But that's not his fault Nami. It's those people who he had to go to school with. They made fun of him for no reason. If I was Sora I would have done the same thing." Kairi sighed and sat down but a cold voice instantly made her jump back up.

"Hey Kairi. How's it going?" Kairi turned and saw Axel walking towards her, she instantly cowered behind her friends, who quickly stood in front of Kairi, blocking Axel away from her. Axel just laughed a little.

"Oh no. I'm so frightened. What can a bunch of girls do against me?" Axel said sarcastically. Yuffie was first to speak up.

"You leave Kairi alone! You know better than anyone else that your only with Larxene to get some on the side."

"So what if I am? She knows it. She also knows I'm one of the hottest guys in school. Maybe you would like to join us sometime. You're all invited."

"You're disgusting!" Rikku shouted.

"Yeah, you leave my sister alone!" Naminé said, surprised by her own courage.

"You know what?" Axel began. "I don't think I will. Hey guy's I think I'll need help in moving these girls out of the way."

Four teenage guys and Larxene made their way over to Axel and stood behind him, except for Larxene, who took to wrapping herself over Axels arm.

"Allow me to introduce my friends. The one with the long silver hair is Sephiroth, the big huge guy over there is Lexaeus, I believe you know my half brother Saix and lastly my cousin Baralai. You see I'm in charge of this little gang. And what I say goes. Now I really don't want to repeat myself Kairi, so why don't you just…"

"Back off!"

Everyone turned their head to the source of the voice and the girls smiled. About four feet away from them stood Sora, Riku, Roxas, Hayner and Pence. Kairi was happy but also worried about how far Sora was willing to go to make sure Axel didn't harm her.

"And why should I back off?" Axel remarked, causing Sora to clench his fists.

"Because if you don't the only way you're leaving this beach is in an ambulance." Sora replied angrily, now moving towards Axel. Roxas had gone to Lexaeus, Hayner to Saix, Pence to Baralai and Riku to Sephiroth. They weren't going to let Axels friends get anywhere near the girls.

"Hmph. You have no idea who you're dealing with." Axel said sharply.

"Believe me. You're nothing compared to what I've been through." Sora spat back coldly.

Axel and Sora gazed at each other for about five minutes before Axel backed off.

"Fine. I'll leave them alone. For now. My name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

Axel turned and walked away, his friends following close behind him. The boys stayed where they were for a few more minutes, in case Axels and his friends attempted to turned around and attack them off guard, before turning to the girls.

"Are you guys okay?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. We're just glad you came at the right time." Naminé said

"Yeah!" Rikku shouted. "You guys were totally bad ass! I mean did you see the way that Sora…"

Rikku turned her head to look at Sora to find he was walking away.

"Sora? Hey where are you going!? Sora!" Rikku screamed, apparently not liking the fact Sora was ignoring her.

"I'll go talk to him." Kairi said to the group. They all nodded in understanding and Kairi ran off the join Sora.

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Sora thought angrily to himself. "This is going to be just like last time. Why do I always get people into danger?"

"Hey Sora! Sora wait up!"

Sora turned and saw a red faced Kairi run after him, when she was standing right beside him she bent over breathing hard, she had obviously running as fast as she could to catch up to him.

"Hey Kairi. Are you okay? I mean I know he didn't manage to grab you or anything but…"

"I'm fine Sora." Kairi said reassuringly. "Especially after you came along. I was so sure he was going to try and get his friends to grab me. I hate this! Why do I get upset every time he's around me?"

"Well…how long have you been with the guy?"

"Over a year. I know, I was surprised as well when I thought about it. Why did you ask that?"

"Well…I mean I know I said that he's nothing but a jerk but still a year is a long time. You do get attached to people. I guess you're still trying to get used to the fact that you might see him around with other girls. And even if you try thinking of bad things he did your mind is going to make you think of the good times you had. It'll take some time. Don't worry Kairi. You'll get over it when you're ready."

Kairi gazed at Sora surprised. He was right, Kairi had occasionally thought about the times she had spent with Axel. Her birthday, Halloween, the movies, the aquarium. Both her and Axel had done a lot of things together. She had thought people would have told her to get over him he's nothing but a jerk. Sora thought he was a jerk as well, but he was telling Kairi to take her time and not rush into trying to forget about him.

"Thank you Sora." Kairi whispered. Sora had heard her but decided to say nothing. He knew he wasn't supposed to hear that.

"So…Kairi. Do you want to go back to the others?" Sora asked, he could feel that he was getting nervous again. He was on his own with Kairi.

"Hmm. Not really. How about we go get some ice cream?"

"Uh…sure." Sora replied slowly, wondering why she wanted to be alone after a near possible attack.

Sora and Kairi made their way to the other side of the beach until they got to a café. Sora got a table outside while Kairi had gone in and asked for two sea salt ice creams. When Kairi had handed Sora his ice cream she quickly started licking her own, while Sora looked at his skeptically as it melted slowly on his hand.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I am. It's just…I've never heard of an ice cream with sea salt in it. It makes no sense."

"Oh stop being so observant." Kairi said giggling. "Just taste it and you'll see why it doesn't have to make sense."

Sora looked once again at the ice cream, doubting that anything good would come from it. Still, he trusted Kairi. He lifted the ice cream gingerly to him mouth and poked his tongue out, barely grazing the ice cream. That was all that was needed. The second Soras tongue had touched the ice cream his taste buds started fighting over the flavor.

"_Salty? Sweet? Salty and sweet? I don't know. But who cares! This stuff rocks!"_ Sora thought to himself before shoving the entire ice cream into his mouth.

"Sora don't stuff your face!" Kairi said laughing. This was the side of Sora she really liked. The care free and goofy side. The other side of him she didn't like at all. The one who stood up to Axel, for a brief instance the Sora Kairi knew had disappeared and was replaced by something entirely different. As if he went from a cute little puppy to a rabid dog in a matter of seconds.

Sora and Kairi sat at the table eating the remainder of their ice creams until they were left with the sticks. Kairi had taken Soras ice cream stick and thrown them into a bin before grabbing her school bag and started poking a now almost sleeping Sora.

"Sora wake up. We have to go home. You have homework." Kairi said, still poking him.

"I don't want to. Isn't it Olettes job to nag about homework?" Sora muttered drowsily.

"Sora you lazy bum! Get up off that chair." Kairi half shouted while giggling.

"No!" Sora said determined.

"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to walk home alone." Kairi said, putting emphasis on the word alone, hoping it would make Sora get up.

"No fair. Your using my kindness to get me up. Cheater." Sora muttered but still smiling.

"Maybe. But seriously I don't want to walk home on my own, the guys probably went home already. It's getting late after all." Kairi said, a slightly worried tone in her voice.

"Okay okay. I'll walk you home, but you have to promise not to tell the girls. I don't want them telling the guys and then end up embarrassing me. Promise?"

"I promise Sora." Kairi said smiling. She couldn't help but smile. In her mind this was nothing more than two friends going for an ice cream. But her heart was telling her otherwise. Saved from the bad guy, a walk on the beach, having an ice cream together, walking her home. Her heart was continuously trying to convince Kairi that this was her first unofficial date with Sora.

"Uh…Kairi? Kairi are you okay?"

"Huh? What? Kairi said surprised.

"You just blanked out there for a second. Are you okay?" Sora asked, obviously concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"I can't believe it. That's the second time I've zoned out around him. How does he do that!?" Kairi thought to herself.

"Okay. It's a good thing I'm walking you home them, otherwise you would have blanked out and walked into the ocean." Sora said smirking.

"Are you calling me dumb?" Kairi said pouting.

"No I'm not calling you dumb. If anything I was going to name you after that dwarf in snow white, Sleepy."

"Hmph. You meanie. Well if I'm Sleepy then I guess your Dopey." She laughed.

"Oh haha. Let's all make fun of Dopey." Sora said sarcastically.

"Aww. Don't be upset Sora. After all, Dopey is my favorite character." She said quietly, but loud enough for Sora to hear.

Sora blushed at Kairi's words. He was about to ask her what she had meant by that when a sudden rain storm started.

"Oh crap!" Sora shouted. "We're going to get soaked! Let's go!"

Kairi agreed and both her and Sora ran for her house. They ran for ten minutes, no longer avoiding puddles, as they were already soaked to the skin. Although the rain was slightly cold Sora couldn't help but blush. He had looked at Kairi as they were running and instantly recognized that her top had become slightly transparent, revealing her bra. Without hesitation, Sora had reached into his gym bag and took out the towel Roxas had let him borrow. Kairi had been confused at first as to why Sora was giving it to her until she looked at her top herself. She quickly took the towel off of Sora and wrapped it around herself. She was horrified, if her mother had seen her walk in the door like that she would have been dead meat. What was even more horrifying as that Sora had seen.

Kairi and Sora stood panting in front of Kairi's front door. The rain hadn't eased up at all since they left the beach. If anything it had gotten worse.

"Why the heck won't it stop!?" Sora almost screamed.

"We live on an island. It doesn't rain much here but when it does it rains a lot." Kairi explained.

There was an awkward silence between them for a few moments before Sora spoke up.

"Well…I guess I'll be going. You know, wouldn't be too impressive if I didn't show up home on my second day here."

"Yeah…I guess." Kairi said. Sora swore he heard a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well….I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Kairi."

"Bye Sora."

Kairi wanted nothing more than to grab him and bring his body to hers. Nobody, not even Rikku, had ever been this caring towards her. Sora felt the same, nobody had ever cared for him like this. However neither of them did nothing, afraid that the other would think things were moving too fast. Without another word Sora turned and ran out of the garden, running up the road heading to his new home. Kairi stood at the front door watching him until he was out of site. She felt sad that he was leaving.

"I miss you already." Kairi whispered.

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**Pen Monkey: Yeah yeah they are moving things a bit quickly, but it's my first fanfiction and seeing as I write what happens then it shall, although I will not have a meteor destroy the islands, that's just stupid. R&R please or Yuffie will insert her Shuriken in an unhappy place. Oh and yes I may be planning a Pence x Yuna fic sometime in the future. So if you see anyone making that pairing let them know I was the original inventor! I suggested it! It is mine!**


	10. The Sleepover

**I really, REALLY hate this chapter T-T, curse my lack of knowledge on girls sleepovers, why the hell did I decide to make a chapter on this? And no I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

Chapter 10: The sleepover

The past three days had been pretty uneventful for the girls of Destiny Islands, aside from Kairi, who had gotten closer to Sora. She had managed to avoid Axel at school as Sora had offered to walk with her to her classes, even the ones he wasn't in. There had been one or two rumors spreading around that they were dating but they ignored them, thinking that if they denied it then people would think they were. They also hadn't told anyone what had happened on Monday after the encounter with Axel.

Even their friends thought that Kairi and Sora were getting _very_ close to each other, and gave them time to themselves as much as they could. They could see a few romantic sparks between Sora and Kairi, and were just waiting for the chance to make it explode into a fiery passion. Sora and Kairi however, caught on to their plan and teased their friends every chance they got. Sora and Kairi were almost inseparable when they were on their own everyday after school, and when the time came for one of them to leave it would get harder and harder.

However Kairi never saw Sora today. He was at Rikus house practicing for the battle of the bands, which was coming up in the next few days. Today Kairi would be with Naminé, Olette, Yuffie, Rikku and Selphie for a sleepover in Olettes house. Despite feeling weird without Sora around Kairi was excited. She hadn't been to a sleepover in months. Kairi, Naminé and Olette discussed what they would be doing that night. First they would have a small feast, mostly involving ice cream, pop corn, chocolate and cookies. Afterwards they would talk about anything that had happened recently involving people in their school, family things, fights and boys who they thought were cute. Kairi had a huge feeling that Sora would end up coming into the conversation.

As Kairi and Naminé made their way to Olettes house Naminé blurted out something Kairi didn't expect to hear.

"I like him." Naminé said quietly.

"You like who?" Kairi asked, interested that her shy sister liked someone.

"Roxas. I like him." Naminé repeated, a tinge of pink now creeping on her face.

"You like Roxas! Since when! Tell me everything." Kairi said quickly.

"Well…It was when you and Sora went away last Monday after the incident at the beach. We all decided that we weren't very hungry for ice cream and that we were going to head home. But Axel and his gang went in the direction where our house was and I was afraid of going on my own in case he found me. Roxas came up to me and said he knew a shortcut to my house. Do yourself a favor Kairi. If Roxas ever asks you to take a shortcut then don't. It was the longest walk I've ever had. I swear he got us lost." Naminé said giggling.

"And? And? Tell me what happened." Kairi whined.

"Okay. Anyway it started raining and he just grabbed my hand and ran in some random direction. He was lucky though because it was the direction of where we lived. But when we were running he tripped and fell over, and because he was holding my hand I fell as well. I fell on top of him." She said blushing.

"Oh my god Nami! What happened next!" Kairi shouted excitedly.

"Well…we were laughing. Then we stopped and there was this sort of silent moment between us. We just looked at each other as if we were the only two people in the world. Then he just blurted out that he really likes me. And then he had this kind of really sad pouty face on. It was so cute Kairi, you just had to have seen it. Anyway I told him I liked him for a while and…"

"What? And then what!" Kairi half screamed, grabbing her sister and shaking her for the answer.

"Well..we…well we kissed."

At that moment both girls let out a small scream of happiness. This was the first relationship to ever form in their group. Who knew how the others would react, especially Selphie, who has been waiting for a romance in the group ever since it was formed.

"But you can't tell anyone Kairi. I want it to be a secret. Me and Roxas want to announce it ourselves."

"Wow Nami you're treating it as if you two were getting married." Kairi said giggling, causing her sister to blush.

"Oh shut up. Come on we're here." Naminé said, pulling Kairi up to the front door of Olettes house. Naminé knocked on the door and waited for no longer than thirty seconds until they were both pulled in the door by Yuffie and Rikku.

"It's about time you two got here!" Rikku said impatiently.

"Yeah!" Yuffie said. "You said you were going to be here at nine o' clock. It's now nine thirty!"

"Oh really?" Kairi remarked. "What time did you two get here?"

"We came at twenty-five minutes past nine. But we were still here before you!" Rikku replied before all four of them started laughing.

"So where's Olette?" Naminé asked.

"Oh she just went to the bathroom. She'll be down in a few minutes. So where are your pajamas?" Yuffie asked.

Kairi and Naminé pulled their pajamas out of their bags and unfolded them. Kairi's pajamas consisted of a white tank top with a thin black halter top sown onto the inside of it, while the bottom half was a pair of light purple hot pants that went halfway down to her knees and a purple skirt that attached to it. Naminés was a lot more simple. It was a white night gown with a black strip along the neck and two black sleeves. They knew that if any guy saw them wearing these they would just drool all over them, or snigger because there was two girls walking around in nightclothes.

"Wow. Those pajamas are so cute!" Rikku exclaimed. Kairi and Naminé just giggled.

As they were chatting Olette came down the stairs with her parents, Aerith and Squall Leonheart, and Selphie. Aerith was telling Olette where they were going and how they would be out for the night with a few friends.

"And remember Olette. No boys." Her father said sternly. Olette just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah dad I know. No boys allowed. Now go on you're going to be late."

Olette managed to push her parents out the door and watched as they got into the car and drove away. The second they were out of sight the girls made their way to the kitchen. They quickly grabbed the necessities. Popcorn, Ice cream, cookies, diet cola and a pamphlet for a pizza place. Rikku called the pizza place and ordered two large cheese pizzas while the rest of the girls went to the sitting room to watch a movie. After much debate it was decided that they were going to watch District 9. Twilight was mentioned but the girls instantly refused, claiming that if they wanted to watch a guy brooding for hours they would hide Rikus book of girls' that wanted to date him. Kairi, having never seen Riku in a brooding moment, let the girls have their say. After the movie, and after consuming all available food and drink including the pizza that was delivered, the girls went upstairs and got changed into their pajamas. Then they went back downstairs to talk about their lives. Selphie, as usual, went first.

"Hey guys did you hear what happened to that Luxord guy in our school? He was suspended from school the other day?"

"For real?" Yuffie asked surprised.

"Yeah. He was gambling with some guys in the year above him and owned everything they had aside from their underwear."

The girls laughed but Kairi wasn't paying attention. Kairi was so busy thinking about Sora that she failed to notice Naminé calling her.

"Kairi? Hello Kairi you there?"

"Huh? I'm sorry I didn't hear you." Kairi said embarrassed.

"Yeah. You were off in your own little world. You thinking about Sora?" Rikku said slyly.

"Wh...what? No I wasn't!" Kairi said embarrassed. However the girls knew better.

"Yeah you do Kairi. I've seen how you and Sora look at each other. I mean you two are always talking to each other and he always walks you to your classes." Naminé added.

"Shut up!" Kairi said ashamed. "We don't like each other that way. We're just friends."

"Sure Kairi. Whatever you say." Selphie said giggling.

The rest of the night went on without another mention of Sora. Eventually the girls went to sleep, all except for Kairi. She sat near the window and gazed at the sky, watching the stars.

_"Why does everything remind me of him?"_ Kairi thought to herself. _"Pull yourself together Kairi. He's just friend. You don't like him that way."_

But no matter how many times she said it she knew it wasn't true. She hated when he left her, she hated that he didn't act the same way around her as she did around him. Giving up, she finally got into her sleeping bag and went to sleep, hoping things would get better in the morning.

One thing was for sure. She didn't plan on having a sleepover anytime soon.

**Argh! -Pulls my hair out- I sooo hate this chapter .**


	11. Battle Of The Bands Part 1

**I decided to give you a double update, since chapter ten is a horrible piece of junk. Enjoy! ^-^**

Chapter 11: Battle Of The Bands - Part 1

**_BEEP BEEP BEEP_**

Sora groaned angrily at his new alarm clock that was now attempting to wake him up. He hit the snooze button and rolled over in his bed. However the sunlight that shone through the slit in his bedroom curtains shone directly in his face, as if taunting him to get up already. Giving up, Sora slowly dragged himself out of bed and went for a shower. He took his time, relieved that it was Saturday. Not only was there no school but Battle of the bands was on tonight, which excited him.. Aside from the encounter with Axel and his friends, which made Soras blood boil every time he thought about it, everything was great at the Islands.

After finishing up in the shower Sora lazily put on some clean clothes. He put on a black shirt and a white jumper with black tribal signs on the shoulders and a pair of black baggy jeans. He finished off by putting on a pair of white and black pair of tennis shoes. To finish it off he decided, for no reason whatsoever, to wear a white beanie with a black thorn-like pattern all over it. After assuring that he had his iPod, crown shaped pendant and all other essentials he went downstairs into the kitchen to be greeted by Roxas and Rikku.

"Hey guys. Where's Tifa and Cloud?" Sora asked questionably.

"They went to work early. Some delivery crisis or something. Which means we got the house to ourselves." Rikku said bluntly. Sora stifled a laugh. Rikku was nothing short of a zombie when she woke up early in the morning. When she left the kitchen for the sitting room he turned to Roxas, who was sitting at the table.

"Hey Roxas what's for breakfast?" Sora asked.

"Why do you always ask questions?" Roxas said as he turned a page in the rolling stones magazine, more interested in it than Sora.

"Come on Roxas you know I'm a nosey type of guy. So what're we having?" Sora said smirking. Knowing that if he went on long enough he would get Roxas to cave.

"God you're annoying. There are some pancakes in the microwave. Just heat them for a minute. You should be able to last that long without starving." Roxas said chuckling.

Sora glared at his cousin for a second before laughing along with him. As Sora waited for his pancakes and Roxas continued reading about the newest guitars and subwoofers on sale they heard a shriek from the living room. Instinctively they were about to run in when Rikku ran in front of them, eyes wide and phone clutched tightly in her hand. Sora was about to ask her what happened when Rikkus hand shot up and pointed at Roxas.

"You're evil! You're so evil! Why didn't you tell me!" Rikku said shrieking at Roxas. Roxas just stood there, his mouth opening and closing. Sora just stood there confused, apparently Roxas knew what Rikku was talking about. He decided to satisfy his curiosity.

"Umm Rikku what the heck are you talking about?" Sora asked nervously, afraid that this question might be his last before Rikku tore his head off.

"Roxas! He kissed Naminé! The day Axel came after us! He walked her home and kissed her! Oh my God Roxas you're just so evil for not telling me!" Rikku shouted.

Sora just stared at Roxas smiling slyly at his now beet red cousin. Apparently he didn't want anyone to find out. Before Sora could ask Roxas if he and Naminé were dating Rikku jumped onto her brother, dragging him back to his chair.

"Okay Roxas. Now tell us. How long have you and Naminé been going out?" Rikku said sternly. It was as if she had suddenly become one of those mothers who are paranoid about everything their kids do. Sora did his best not to start laughing at Roxas, who was blabbering incoherently.

"I…I uh…who…wha…me…Naminé." Roxas said nervously. It took several minutes before he calmed down and managed to speak a proper sentence. "W…well. Like you said Rikku. We've been going out since…well since we kissed. Wait how did you find out? Me and Naminé said we were gonna wait and tell all of the gang together."

"Selphie told me. You know you can't hide things from her Roxas. She'll find you out no matter what." Rikku said smiling while Roxas scowled. Finally Sora couldn't hold it anymore and laughed, which Rikku joined in. Roxas just glared at Sora and smiled.

"Hey Sora why are you laughing. Remember our little conversation on the way to the beach? About a certain girl you said you liked." Sora instantly stopped laughing and glared at his cousin, raising a fist and shaking it threateningly. Rikku however was intrigued.

"Oh who is it? Come on Roxas you gotta tell me!" Rikku pleaded. Roxas just smiled and shook his head.

"Sorry Rikku. Guy thing. We can't say who likes who. " Roxas said coolly. Earning a thumbs up from Sora and a whine from Rikku.

"Fine! I don't want to know if it's a stupid guy thing." Rikku said pouting.

The rest of the morning went on without another mention of Roxas and Naminé, although Rikku was trying to get a hint off of Sora as to who he liked. But Sora wouldn't say a word. When the time came for Sora and Roxas to go to Rikus house for practice, Rikku literally wrapped herself around Soras leg begging him to tell her.

"Please tell me Sora! Just a little hint!" Rikku begged.

"Okay okay. You really want to know?" Sora said slowly.

"Yes! Tell me!" Rikku squealed, letting go of Soras leg and standing up excitedly.

"Okay listen carefully. Well she was…" Sora said slowly, making Rikku lean in closer to her what he was going to say. "…at that sleepover on Thursday." Sora said quickly before taking off down the road with Roxas. Leaving behind a very ticked off Rikku. Halfway to Rikus house Sora and Roxas stopped running and started laughing.

"You know she's going to find out eventually." Roxas said.

"Oh come on." Sora replied. "There was five girls at the sleepover, not including Rikku. So there are five girls there that I could have a crush on."

"Yeah well we all know who it is." Roxas said smiling.

"Oh shut up. Look were just friends okay. I only like her as a friend." However in the back of Soras mind there was a little voice screaming [i]"Lie lies lies!"[/i]

"Oh come on Sora when are you going to admit you like Kairi?"

"I don't like her." Sora said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever man. All the guys can see it. Why can't you?" Roxas asked, his tone full of concern.

"Look Roxas I barely know her. I can't like her after knowing her for a week. She's just some girl that I get along with. That's all."

"Okay then. Well come on we're almost at Rikus." Roxas said, giving up on trying to make Sora tell the truth.

The boys spent the next ten minutes walking in silence towards Rikus house. Sora continued to think back to the image of Kairi when they were running in the rain. The water on her face, the way her hair clung to the sides of her face and the way her clothes stuck to her body. At the last though Sora felt his face blush and mentally shook the thoughts out of his head.

_"No bad Sora! Why do I keep thinking about her? She's just some girl. I can't like her. I've only lived here for a week. Gah! Why did I make that stupid promise? It's not my business. I should have just let her deal with it on her own."_ But no matter how hard Sora tried to deny it he knew it wasn't true. And eventually he found that he was arguing with himself.

_"I don't like her. I can't like her."_

_"Why not? You're a guy. She's a girl. It's natural. It's puppy love."_

Sora felt it weird that he was consulting with himself, but didn't focus on anything else, even ignoring Roxas talking to him.

_"No I can't. I'm Sora. I'm not supposed to fall in love at all. I'm no good at relationships."_

_"Stop beating yourself over that. It's not your fault. You got close and she hurt you. It's not the end of the world. It happens all the time. Life goes on. Maybe it can go on with Kairi?"_

_"No! I don't want to get hurt again."_

_"Suit yourself. But don't forget. One of these days you'll learn of your feelings for Kairi and she won't be around anymore. And you'll end up worse than before."_

"Sora!

"Huh?" Sora asked confused.

"Jeez Sora! You just blanked out there. You almost walked in front of a bus. Almost gave me a heart attack!" Roxas said worriedly.

"I almost what?" Sora said in confusion, looking down and realising that he was standing in the middle of the road.

"Oh. Sorry Roxas." Sora apologized.

"It's okay man. Just promise you won't ever do that again."

Sora and Roxas walked for another five minutes before reaching Rikus house. Sora was amazed at how big it was. It was almost twice as big as Roxas' house and a lot wider. Sora guessed it was because Riku was an only child and his family owned one of the biggest game designing companies in the worlds. When Riku had let them in Sora saw a display of weapons on the wall. Among them were gunblades, buster swords and masamunes. However two weapons caught his eye. One was a sword with a jet black handle and a blade which looked like a wing. It looked very sinister but at the same time it looked cool. The other looked like a large silver oversized key, with a golden hand guard and blue handle, with a keychain with three circles at the bottom of the blade.

"Hey Riku. What's with all the weapons?

"Oh that thing. It was my grandfathers. He had a hobby of collecting weapons, you should've seen him at the auction when he was trying to get those two." Riku said smiling, pointing at the large key and the wing blade. "He was in his 60's when they were on auction, the way he was acting I could've sworn he was related to Hayner and Tidus."

"I resent that!" Hayner shouted, freaking the others out at the fact he could hear them all the way downstairs.

"Well come on. Hayner's waiting for us and I don't trust him on my own." Riku whispered, making sure Hayner couldn't hear him.

Sora, Riku and Roxas went upstairs to Rikus room and met Hayner, who was sitting at the drum set waiting to start. Sora was the only one who gazed in amazement at Rikus room. Everything was brand new. Playstation 3, Xbox 360, HDtv, blu-ray player. Basically Riku had it all.

"Hey Sora get your butt over here. We gotta practice." Hayner shouted to him. Snapping out of his trance, Sora went over to the boys and grabbed the guitar. After preparing the instruments the boys agreed on a song and got ready.

"One. Two. One. Two. Three." Sora shouted before playing. He sang the words to the song but he couldn't hear them. He couldn't hear the guitars or the drums or anything else. His mind could only hear one thing.

_"Kairi."_


	12. Battle Of The Bands Part 2

**Pen Monkey: Part two of the Battle of The Bands chapter, I really hope you guys enjoy it ^^**

**Riku: Pen Monkey does not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the songs in this story.**

**Pen Monkey: Where the heck did you come from?**

**Riku: Kairi was too tired today, so I filled in.**

**Pen Monkey: Whatever, enjoy the story guys.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Battle of the bands -Part 2

"Hey Kairi, come on or we're going to be late. I promised Roxas we would be on time." Naminé whined.

Once again Kairi realized that she had been daydreaming again. And, as usual, Sora was in it. She couldn't help but think about the spiky chocolate haired boy. The image of him was burned into her memory. Kairi couldn't help but smile whenever she thought of him. He was like a guilty pleasure that only she could know about. After all who else would understand? The gang would probably believe that it was bound to happen, that they make such a cute couple, but it was more than that. There was something magical Kairi felt whenever she was around Sora, a feeling of happiness when he was there, a feeling of sadness when he wasn't.

"Okay Nami. Give me a minute. I'm going to get my bag." Kairi said slowly.

Kairi made her way up to her room and grabbed the black handbag off her bed before turning to the door. She stopped however when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She wore a plain white tee shirt and a green jacket with the word 'sexy' written across it. She also wore baby blue pants that had rips at the knees. At first Kairi thought she would look cute in this outfit but she was dead wrong. She looked hot. A fleeting thought appeared in her mind, wondering what Sora would think of it.

"Kairi come on were going to be late!" Naminé called from downstairs. Snapping out from her daze, Kairi quickly left her room and ran down the stairs, meeting a disgruntled Naminé.

"Calm down Naminé. We'll get there on time. I promise." Kairi reassured her sister, who replaced her unsure look with a smile.

Kairi and Naminé waved goodbye to Rinoa and left for the battle of the bands, which was taking place at the Balamb Island. Kairi and Naminé walked to the docks with arms linked, talking about Roxas and Naminés relationship and how Selphie managed to ruin the surprise. Naminé and Roxas wanted to play a prank in revenge. What the prank was Naminé wouldn't say.

"So Kairi. Umm…how are you and Sora?" Naminé asked innocently.

Kairi however sighed. "Nami I've told you a million times. I really don't like Sora that way. He's just a friend that I know I don't like him as anything else."

"But…Kairi…" Naminé began. However Kairi interrupted her.

"Nami you're my sister. I would have told you if I liked Sora. You would have been the first person to know. But I don't like Sora. Why is it so hard for you guys to see that? We both said that we don't want to be boyfriend or girlfriend. So why do you guys keep saying that we should?"

Naminé never answered Kairi's question. She just stayed silent. Both sisters stared at each other in silence until it was broken by two familiar squealing girls. Both girls turned to the direction of the squealing and saw Rikku and Yuffie running towards them. When they stopped short of Kairi and Naminé they bent over gasping for breath.

"I…told you…I would…win." Riku gasped desperately.

"No…way…I…won." Yuffie argued.

Kairi and Naminé remained silent as both girls started arguing over who won the race. Eventually they forgot about it and turned their attention to Kairi and Naminé.

"Hey Kairi, hey Naminé. You two heading to the island?" Rikku asked.

"Yeah we want to get there early. We want to get good spots." Naminé said.

"Wow. Looks like someone can't wait to get to their Roxykins." Yuffie giggled, causing Naminé to blush.

"Wh…what? No! He's not…" Naminé stammered embarrassingly. But before Rikku and Yuffie could poke more fun at her Kairi got their attention.

"Guys we really should be on our way or we're going to be late." Kairi said with a bit of edge in her voice. Luckily the other three didn't recognize it.

Kairi, Naminé, Rikku and Yuffie walked down to the docks to get the boat to the other island. They could have taken their own boats but seeing as the ferry was there they decided to save their energy, even if it did take a bite out of their money. They walked around the ferry saying hi to people from school, and staying away from one or two of Axels' gang, managed to keep themselves entertained until the ferry left the docks. When it did Naminé couldn't help but smile and squeal happily.

"Oh my god I'm so nervous. I mean what if Roxas doesn't like my outfit. It would be so embarrassing." Naminé said excitedly and nervously at the same time, looking over herself.

Kairi looked Naminé up and down and was amazed at how she never realized what her sister was wearing. A white t-shirt with an open baby blue jacket and dull grey-blue jeans. Kairi thought that if Roxas didn't take care of Naminé all the other boys would be after her.

"Nami are you crazy? You look gorgeous. Roxas is going to be drooling all over you. I'm sure of it." Kairi said sweetly, causing Naminé to smile and give her sister a slight hug.

They talked for another ten minutes about the competition before the ferry stopped on the Besaid Island. The group got a bus to the small town near the center of the island and Kairi quickly saw the stage for the bands. A ripple of excitement went through her body at the though of Sora singing on stage. As much as she tried to deny liking Sora it was hopeless. She liked him, she was just worried that the others were wrong and that Sora really didn't like her. Emotions were so confusing.

"Hey Kairi!" Rikku called. "Come on! Get your butt of the bus or we'll lose all the good spots!"

Kairi snapped out of her thoughts to see everyone getting off the bus, Rikku was up front waiting impatiently for her. Grabbing her handbag off the seat she quickly made her way out of the bus. It was just her and Rikku, so Kairi guessed that Naminé and Yuffie had gone to find the others and a good place for them to stand.

"Hey Rikku where are we supposed to go?" Kairi asked.

"Come on. It's over here. Naminé saved us the spot. Yuffie went to get Pence, Olette, Selphie, Wakka and Tidus. They should be here in a few minutes."

Rikku, Naminé and Kairi had waited for a few minutes before Yuffie and the others showed up. The girls all complimented each others clothing and squealed in delight about random nothingness. The boys however quickly grew tired of this and offered to pay Pence to take pictures of them to get the girls to stop talking. The plan worked, and Pence managed to get a good 500 munny for his efforts. Eventually Selphie was getting bored with waiting, leapt on Tidus' back without warning and started shouting.

"Start the concert already!" Selphie screamed.

As if on command, the lights on the stage dimmed. Tidus eventually fell to the floor, unable to hold her up any longer, resulting in Selphie muttering threats if he dirtied her clothes. The announcer came out and started talking over the noise of the cheering.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Tonight is the battle of the bands! Where men and women from all over battle it out for fame in their hometown! Tonight's winners will win a record deal with the world famous record company Atlantica enterprises!"

There was a roar of cheering from the crowd, mostly from Tidus and Selphie, who were the loudest of all. Kairi just smiled at the two hyper active teens.

The announcer continued speaking. "Well we've got a lot of bands tonight. Our first band tonight is the Dancing flames!"

The announcer left the stage and a group of _very_ familiar people made their way to centre stage. Kairis eyes widened in shock as she spotted the fire red hair of her ex-boyfriend and the friends he had brought with him to the beach. What really surprised her was that he had a bruise on his eye. It looked brand new. She had a very strong feeling Axel and Sora had shared a few words, and some punches, when they were backstage.

Kairi cringed when she heard Axel singing and the band play. They were singing 'It's almost easy' by Avenged Sevenfold. Kairi couldn't make out half the words as Axel sang them into the microphone, and couldn't have been more relieved when they finished. Most people cheered but were almost drowned out by Selphies 'boos'. When the announcer came back on Selphie was once again forced to sit down. Eight other bands played afterwards, some were pretty good, although some of the bands weren't that great, a band called The Neoshadows had just finished playing 'Pain' by Three Days Grace, before the announcer had came back onstage, clapping before turning to the crowd.

"Okay kiddies. That was some really interesting music. Next up is Kingdom Hearts. Let's give a round of applause!"

Kairi and the gang rose up off their chairs and clapped like crazy. But when Sora and the others stepped on stage Kairi looked at Sora in shock. He had a large bruise on his eye and a bloody nose and cut lip. Obviously Axel had gotten to him. As if on cue an infuriating voice crept into her ears.

"Tell your boyfriend to watch it. Otherwise he won't be so lucky, and neither will his friends."

Kairi turned and saw Larxene, who was wearing even skimpier clothes than normal, however she wasn't alone, as she was being followed by Lexaeus and Baralai. Tidus and Wakka moved in front of their friends, clenching their fists and readying themselves for a good fight. Kairi pushed past them and glared at Larxene.

"Go stuff yourself you witch, we have better things to do than waste our time acknowledging your existence."

Larxene made a move to slap Kairi but was stopped by a person from behind her. Larxene went to hit whoever was trying to interfere with her but instantly stopped at the sight of the mullet style hair. It was Mr. Demy, and everyone present was shocked to see the serious look on his face.

"Larxene, unless you're here to enjoy the music, you better leave immediately, otherwise you'll be looking at a weeks detention starting next Monday. The same goes for the rest of you."

Larxene glared icily at Mr. Demy, who stared back, obviously not intimidated by her or Axels' friends.

"We weren't doing anything wrong sir." Baralai said sarcastically towards Mr. Demy. However he just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah like I'd really take your word for it Baralai, I know the company you keep. If I so much as hear anything involving you or your friends I'll make sure you all get expelled from the school and unable to set so much as a toe inside it."

Larxene pulled herself out of Mr. Demy's grip and glared at Kairi, before walking off with the other two. Before Kairi could ask why Mr. Demy was here he had left already, walking towards the stage and vanishing out of sight.

"Hey Kairi the guys are starting!" Rikku squealed, in excitement.

Kairi turned to the stage and saw Riku on the left side of the stage. It was pitch black, the spotlight focusing only on him,. He started playing, strumming a few notes until speeding up. Kairi had to admit he was pretty damn good with a guitar. Two more spotlights appeared and shined on Roxas and Hayner, Roxas starting on bass and Hayner drumming away with much enthusiasm before the entire stage illuminated when Sora began playing, lights of different colours moving in all directions. Sora suddenly moved towards the microphone and began to sing.

_It's bugging me, grating me_  
_And twisting me around_  
_Yeah I'm endlessly caving in_  
_And turning inside out _

____

'Cause I want it now  
I want it now  
Give me your heart and your soul  
And I'm breaking out  
I'm breaking out  
Last chance to lose control

The entire crowd was in a frenzy, swaying and jumping in beat to the music. Rikku and Yuffie were screaming in excitement, and Selphie was being restrained by Tidus and Wakka, as she was attempting to hop on the stage and most likely try to create a mosh pit. Kairi was smiling hard, loving the excitement that everyone was in.

_It's holding me, morphing me_  
_And forcing me to strive_

__

_'Cause I want it now_  
_I want it now_  
_Give me your heart and your soul_  
_And I'm not breaking down_  
_I'm breaking out_  
_Last chance to lose control_

Sora moved away from the microphone and moved towards the edge of the stage, playing away on the guitar as he smiled to everyone, the small wounds not even noticeable under his delight at the crowds reaction, he scanned the area, looking for a certain auburn haired girl and his new friends, he didn't have to look far, as he spotted Selphie trying to wrestle out of the combined grip of Wakka and Tidus, and noticed Kairi was not far away from them. He didn't have time to signal that he could see her, as the remainder of the song was coming up. Retreating backwards towards the microphone stand, he began to sing, his eyes focused on where she was standing.

_And I want you now  
I want you now  
I'll feel my heart implode  
And I'm breaking out  
Escaping now  
Feeling my faith erode_

When the song finished, everyone cheered in happiness, highly impressed by the band. Sora was unexpectedly picked up by Hayner and Roxas, cheering loudly, while Riku stood at the front of the stage and encouraged the crowd the cheer more, which was mostly the girls. Sora looked out towards Kairi and the others, and waved his hand, signaling them to come onstage. Kairi was first head towards the stage, her stomach feeling even funnier, as if there was over a thousand butterflies moving about inside of it. They all gathered backstage, where they were greeted by Sora, Riku, Roxas and Hayner. While everyone else was talking about the performance, Sora sat down on a nearby empty chair and smiled at Kairi, pointing to the empty seat beside him.

"Would you like to have a seat? You must be tired from standing for so long."

Kairi blushed and agreed to sit beside him. For the rest of the contest Sora and Kairi sat beside each other watching the final bands go out and perform. Some were good, some were bad and some were downright hilarious. They were surprised when Mr. Demy came out and played the Cliffs of Dover. They had to admit he was brilliant, and it explained to Kairi why he had disappeared backstage earlier. At the end of the contest the announcer called all the of the bands to center stage; however Sora refused to leave his seat so Hayner went up with Roxas and Riku instead.

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, we've had a lot of great acts tonight. Some good and some bad. But there can only be one winner of the Battle of the Bands. And tonight we'll be announcing who is the best."

The announcer pulled out an envelope and quickly tore it open.

"In third place. We have The Dancing Flames! "

Sora and Kairi both scowled at the mention of Axels' band. Oddly enough nobody came up to collect the prize. Axel probably left after realizing he came third. Obviously he was insulted and didn't want to be third rate.

"Uh okay folks looks like the Dancing Flames went home early. In second place…Kingdom Hearts!

The entire crowd erupted in applause as Hayner ran up and took the second place trophy and the envelope containing the runner up prize. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas and all the rest of the gang charged up and joined up in a massive group hug. When they broke apart however, there was a scene which caused Selphie to shriek with joy.

"Oh my god they're kissing!"

Sora and Kairi automatically turned to Roxas and Naminé, who was just standing there holding hands.

"Don't look at us you guys." Roxas said, breaking the hand holding he was currently doing with Naminé in order to put his hands up defensively. "We've just been standing here."

"Then who…" Sora asked before turning around. When he realized who Selphie was talking about he smiled. It wasn't Roxas and Naminé who were kissing. It was Hayner and Olette. When the two finally broke apart they were bombarded by their friends. The boys high fived and guy hugged Hayner, while the girls broke into a fit of giggles with one another. They finally stopped talking to let the announcer declare the winner.

"And now ladies and gentlemen. The winner of this year's battle of the bands. The Nocturnes!"

The entire gang roared in approval as Mr. Demy came up and took his prize. He obviously wasn't expecting to win. Even though Sora wanted to win he knew that Mr. Demy deserved it. He was Sora's favorite teacher by far. Mr. Demy gave a quick speech, promising he wouldn't give up teaching at the school, then left the stage with everyone else, no sooner had the gang left the stage area did the attention turn back to Olette and Hayner.

"Wow Olette you actually did it? I thought you were too nervous?" Kairi asked.

"Well everyone was happy and excited and I though now would be a good time to do it." Olette said sheepishly.

As Olette got swamped with more and more questions about Hayner, Kairi looked over to the boys group. Everyone was surrounding Hayner, giving him very little chance to speak properly as he got continuous high fives and pats on the back. The only one not involved was Sora, who was staring at Kairi. Kairi smiled and nudged her head to the left, signaling Sora to follow her. Glancing at the gang he quickly slipped away and both he and Kairi ran off.

"Kairi where are we going?" Sora shouted. Kairi was way ahead of him and obviously knew where she was going.

"It's a surprise Sora. You have to see for yourself."

Sora knew he wouldn't get any more out of her so just followed. Five minutes passed before she spoke.

"Sora. Welcome to my secret beach."

Sora gazed in amazement. There wasn't much else he could do. The beach looked like it was something that was being constructed but just forgotten about halfway. There were huge stone arches not far from the shore and many rocks. Mostly black with some odd purplish color on them, surrounded the beach. The most amazing thing was that the water looked like there was steam coming from it.

"Kairi…this place is…amazing!"

"I know. I don't think anyone has ever been here besides me. And now you."

Sora blushed at the though. Kairi brought him, out of all people, to a place that was a special secret to her. How the heck was he supposed to repay her for this?

"Sora."

"Yeah Kairi?"

"Don't ever change."

Kairi sat down on the sand and pulled her legs up to her chest to keep warm. Without thinking Sora pulled off his jacket and put it around her before sitting down beside her. He could feel his hand brushing off Kairis and had to fight every nerve in his body to not grab it. In the end he relaxed and lay down on the sand, trying to fight the exhaustion and keep his eyes open. He had therapy in the morning, and wasn't too thrilled about it, but he didn't want to think about that now. All he wanted was to listen to the waves crashing against the beach while he was with Kairi. Aside from that, nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

**Pen Monkey: Phew, I'm pooped from writing that. Thanks to everyone who alerted this and reviewed it ^^ Oh and I know that some people think I'm in hospital, uhm that was a joke guys :P**

**Sora: Well it's your fault for making think that**

**Pen Monkey: Shush you, or I'll have a giant wave crash down on you and Kairi.**


End file.
